11TH HOUR TOASTS

Archive of 11 O'Clock Toasts

 

Eleven O'Clock Toast

You have heard the tolling of 11 strokes.
This is to remind you that with Elks, the hour of 11 has a tender significance.

Wherever Elks may roam, whatever their lot in life may be, when this hour tolls upon the dial of night, the great heart of Elkdom swells and throbs.

It is the golden hour of recollection, the homecoming of those who wander, the mystic roll call of those who will come no more.

Living or dead, an Elk is never forgotten, never forsaken.

Morning and noon may pass him by, the light of day sink heedlessly in the West, but ere the shadows of midnight shall fall, the chimes of memory will be pealing forth the friendly message,

"To our absent members."

 

The Original Jolly Corks Toast

 

Now is the hour when Elkdom's tower
is darkened by the shroud of night,
And father time on his silver chime
Tolls off each moment's flight.

In Cloistered halls each E1k recalls
His Brothers where're they be,
And traces their faces to well-known places
In the annals of memory.

Whether they stand on a foreign land
Or lie in an earthen bed,
Whether they be on the boundless sea
With the breakers of death ahead.

Whate'er their plight on this eerie night
Whate'er their fate may be
Where ever they are be it near or far
They are thinking of you and me.

So drink from the fountain of fellowship
To the Brother who clasped your hand
And wrote your worth in the rock of earth
And your faults upon the sand.

TO OUR ABSENT BROTHERS

 

The Eleventh Hour (on the east coast)
Mrs. H.A. Morton
Santa Monica, 10/31/13
Dedicated to Santa Monica Lodge No. 906

 

Eleven has struck on the Eastern coast,
The Elks have given their standing toast,

"To our absent Brothers," where'er they be.
Whether on land or on the sea.

"To our absent Brothers," from East to West.
Good wishes we send our very best.

The Lodge in the mountains and on the plain.
At eleven takes up this glad refrain:

"To our absent Brothers," the toast peals forth
From the sunny South, to the frozen North.

Though many in foreign lands may roam.
They know at that hour they are thought of at home

The toast even reaches the other shore.
Where they live who meet with us no more.

Like an echo, it comes back loud and clear
"To our absent Brothers," 'till we meet here

So with loving thought, and helping hand,
The work goes on o'er all our land.

And only the Ruler Supreme can know
The good Elks do wherever they go.

Eleven strikes on the Western coast.
The Elks are giving their standing toast.

"To our absent Brothers," from West to East. Including the greatest unto the least,

For at this Elks' hour we all agree,
"To our absent Brothers," B. P. O. E.

From The Pacific Coast Elk

 

Eleventh Hour Toast

 

Elkdom's house is darkened,
the Eleventh Hour is here.
The chimes are calling softly
to our Brothers far and near.
Wherever his footsteps take him,
to near or distant shore,
the Heart of Elkdom beats for him
and for those who come no more.

If you see a Brother falter,
reach out a helping hand ...
His virtues live in memory,
his faults drift with the sand ...

To our Absent Brothers

 

​

 

Eleventh Hour Toast

 

You have listened to the tolling of the eleventh chime,
A reminder our pleasures should cease for a time
In order that those who have finished their score,
May all be brought to mind once more
Wherever our brothers may wander or roam,
On land or sea or their celestial home.
Whatever their lot and life may be,
It is meet with us the surviving to see.

That the hour of eleven on the dial of night,
Shall never pass beyond our sight,
Without our hearts to throb and swell
In wishing our absent brothers well.

Our golden hour of mutual recollection,
A time devoted to silent reflection
Of the home bound brothers on a distant shore,
And the roll call of those, who will come no more.

Regardless of the paths their lives may have taken,
They are never forgotten, never forsaken.
Morning and noon may pass them by,
The light of day fade from the sky,

But ere the shadow of midnight shall fall,
The chimes of memory shall summon us all.
To speed them a message above all others,
God grant you peace,

TO OUR ABSENT BROTHERS

 

A Toast to our Absent Brothers
by Tracy E. Kareha, 1977

 

Tis' the hour of eleven,
throughout Elkdom does it chime.
As we remember our absent brothers,
And their virtues at this time.
One by one they've left us,
To carry on each day.
Even though they've gone now,
They'll help show us the way.

While they were here with us,
They served their country well.
They will never be forgotten,
As it makes our heart throb and swell.

At the mystic hour of eleven,
We remember the brothers we once knew.
And on their journey through eternity,
Always thinking of them as we do.

So when we hear the tolling,
We very quietly stand.
And remember our absent brothers,
Whom we've walked with hand in hand.

TO OUR ABSENT BROTHERS