For 84 years running, the columbarium at Woodlawn Cemetery has anchored a Memorial Day tradition that has weathered changing crowds, shifting venues and the slow filling-in of the grounds around it.
The Santa Monica Elks Lodge No. 906 will continue that tradition Monday, May 25, with its annual Memorial Day Ceremony beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Woodlawn Cemetery, 1847 14th St. The public is welcome, and the program will include patriotic music, speakers and a wreath procession.
This year's ceremony marks the 84th year the lodge has organized the observance at Woodlawn. Ilene Knebel, a 10-year Elks member and current Exalted Ruler of Lodge No. 906, said the event has evolved considerably over the decades.
"The Santa Monica Elks Lodge has planned the event for many years, and it used to be quite grand with big crowds, bands and speakers and such," Knebel said. "Over time the cemetery got 'filled up' and there was less space to do the ceremony, so it has moved to different locations, but always with the columbarium (the large domed structure) as the centerpiece."
Rather than a single keynote speaker, this year's program will feature three voices from within the lodge and the local community. Elks member and event co-chair Jenny Zepp will read General Logan's Orders. Lodge Trustee Xiomara Jovell, an Air Force veteran, will read a poem. Local student Daniela Kadish will read her first-place entry from the lodge's Americanism Contest.
Knebel said the ceremony carries a broader purpose.
"I think the main takeaway is the reminder that freedom and everyday comforts often come at a real human cost," she said. "These ceremonies honor service members who gave their lives, while also encouraging gratitude, reflection, unity, and support for veterans and military families."
Ahead of the program, the lodge coordinates with local community volunteers who place wreaths during the ceremony itself. The lodge also relies on financial support from the City of Santa Monica to stage the event each year.
"Without this, we would not be able to hold the event, so we are grateful for their partnership," Knebel said.
Volunteers are also needed for flag placement and removal surrounding the holiday. Flags will be placed at Woodlawn Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 23, and retrieved at 3 p.m. Monday, May 25. Participation patches are available for those who help.
Founded April 12, 1904, the Santa Monica Elks Lodge has spent 120 years supporting local programs that serve youth, veterans, and unhoused and food-insecure individuals and families. It is one of more than 2,000 Elks lodges nationwide that operate under the order's stated mission to "promote and practice the four cardinal virtues of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism and cultivate good fellowship."
Nationally, the Order of Elks spends more than $80 million each year on benevolent, educational and patriotic community programs. Those efforts include scholarships through the Elks National Foundation, support for special needs children, scouting and athletic teams, veterans' services, physical and occupational therapy programs, and the national "Hoop Shoot" free-throw contest, which involves more than 3 million children.
Youth programming has long been central to the order's work. The Elks Drug Awareness Education Program was developed to alert primary-grade students and their parents to the dangers of drug use. The Elks also originated the observance of Flag Day on June 14, a tradition the order began in 1907 and that Congress later adopted as an official observance.
The Santa Monica Memorial Day Ceremony is open to the public. Additional information about the lodge and its programs is available at www.santamonicaelkslodge906.org or by emailing santamonicaelkslodge906@gmail.com.