How the Elks played Santa Claus for 1,100 SLO County kids in 1925

David Middlecamp
·3 min read
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In the era before television, a big part of community social life was membership in societies.

And at holiday time, they organized big community events.

Myron Angel’s 1883 “History of San Luis Obispo County” featured two chapters documenting fraternal orders.

Some of the now forgotten organizations included the Patrons of Husbandry, Independent Order of Missourians and Irish Land League.

Other organizations have made the transition to the present, like the Elks.

The second Elk’s Lodge Building was at the corner of Morro and Marsh Streets from 1912-1960 at the current site of Pacific Premiere Bank.
The second Elk’s Lodge Building was at the corner of Morro and Marsh Streets from 1912-1960 at the current site of Pacific Premiere Bank.

In 1925, the Elks Lodge #322 building was located at the corner of Morro and Marsh streets, the current site of Pacific Premiere Bank.

They set an ambitious goal for the holidays: They wanted to hand out Christmas presents to area children and prepared over 1,200 gifts. It was barely enough.

To put that number in context, according to the 1920 census the population for San Luis Obispo city and township was 6,254 and the whole county was just under 22,000 total.

The program was so big that kids came from around the county.

The front-page story ran under a five-deck headline in varied fonts that took up almost as many column inches as the story.

Here’s the story that ran in the San Luis Obispo Morning Tribune and Morning Herald on Dec. 23, 1925:

Elks are Xmas Hosts to Children

1100 CHILDREN MADE HAPPY BY YULETIDE GIFT

Community Christmas Tree Draws Throngs from All Sections

SCENE IS COLORFUL

Santa Claus Stays on the Job Until Last Tot is Satisfied

For thirty minutes Tuesday afternoon, children in groups of four and more filed past the community Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn and down the walk to the boxes of candy and nuts that had been prepared for them.

It was a colorful scene. Santa Claus, assisted by the Elks’ committee, handed out the presents to more than 1100 children who came from all quarters of the city and many of them from out in the country. Mothers were lined up along the walks waiting for their children to get their presents and then after receiving the candy and nuts the boys and girls would walk smilingly away with a fist in the red Santa Claus sock reaching for another piece of candy or a nut to take the place of the one rapidly disappearing.

San Luis Obispo merchant in the 1870s, Max Pepperman was the first person in San Luis Obispo County to advertise with the image of Santa Claus.
San Luis Obispo merchant in the 1870s, Max Pepperman was the first person in San Luis Obispo County to advertise with the image of Santa Claus.

The first to receive one of the filled stockings was a little girl. She said her name was Geraldine and then lost all interest in talking and began sampling the candy and the nuts.

The presents were brought to the courthouse lawn in a truck and the boxes containing them were piled up on either side of the sidewalk directly in front of the court house steps. The children were lined upon the sidewalks outside the courthouse yard. They came in through the side entrance, down past the Christmas tree and out the main entrance.

There were just enough of the stockings to go around, perhaps with a few left over, but only a few. The Elks had filled 1,200 of the stockings for the occasion, the time when the tree was dedicated to the children of the community. Money for the present[s] came from the receipts of the Elks’ charity show held recently.

Highway Patrol circa 1929 outside the San Luis Obispo county courthouse at the corner of Monterey and Osos Streets. The officers are from the left: S.J. Lusardi, Roy Alonzo Porter, Chet Fulton, George Donnelly and Capt. Cleon Kyte.The Berkemeyer Garage is in the background, now Mo’s Smokehouse. The California Highway Patrol was founded in August 1929 so this is more likely the date for the photo rather than the original caption which placed the date in 1927.

Some of the boys and girls began to arrive at the courthouse yard at noon to be there in plenty of time. Groups of them accompanied by some older person continued to come until nearly 2 o’clock. Police officers directed traffic at the corner and helped the children across the streets to prevent any accidents.