Good Old Days On Display As Lodge Turns 60

Tue., Nov. 14, 1995

By Paul Turner srpaulturner@gmail.com

The Brotherhood of Friends Lodge celebrated its 60th birthday Saturday night with a dinner dance.

You got to choose between chicken and steak.

Off to the side, the enduring Spokane social club’s history was on display.

Seven small tables had been pushed together to form a surface about 15 feet long. And old black and white photographs, photocopied newspaper clippings, memorabilia and a few recent color snapshots were spread out for perusal.

It was a class in Lilac City 101.

“I want to show some of these pictures to people because they don’t realize how big this place was,” said one sixtysomething woman to a friend.

“The lodge had both the upstairs AND downstairs then,” added the friend.

Today the landmark structure’s downstairs is rented office space, home to Right to Life, a hair salon and others.

A program from the club’s 1948 grand opening at its current location, Third and Monroe, featured drawings of stylish young couples on the go. But nobody stays that age forever. And most of the people dining beneath festive clusters of balloons Saturday night had silver or white hair.

One man looking at the vintage glossies was asked how long he had been a B.O.F. member.

“Oh, God,” was his answer, delivered with a playful wince that turned into a smile. “A long time.”

Many would agree that the club’s long-term future is uncertain. “Lodge’s have become obsolete,” said one woman who said she loves the B.O.F.

Others suggest that this lodge’s great dance floor and live music will continue to lure new members.

But Saturday night wasn’t a board of directors meeting. It was a celebration, complete with birthday cakes and cheek-kissing table hoppers.

A few people complained that their steaks were burned. But laughter was the louder sound.

And over at the table of memories, people stepped into what one lodge member referred to as a time warp.

More than one studied the display and sighed. “This place used to be …”

“That must have been 100 years ago,” muttered a gray-haired woman holding up a photo from a long-ago B.O.F. party.

She was right. The picture was from 1954.

A hundred years ago.

, DataTimes MEMO: Being There is a weekly feature that visits gatherings in the Inland Northwest.

Being There is a weekly feature that visits gatherings in the Inland Northwest.

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