The Elks?

Forgive me if there is a thread on this but I couldn't find it.
Here in Australia we have two different R.A.O.B (Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes) societies - The Grand Lodge of England and The Grand Australasian Banner (GLE and GAB).
They were enormously popular up to 25 years ago with most towns and cities in Australia boasting one or the other lodge. They were usually open after Pub Hours during the week and Sundays before Sunday drinking was allowed. After Sunday drinking was passed the lodges started to drop off at an alarming rate resulting in a mere handful being in existence now (her in Victoria anyway).
When I used to attend regularly we would occasionally get a visit from an American visitor/tourist who was a member of the "Elks" which was an associate member to our order here in Oz.
I know we enjoyed much mirth from the Fred Flintstone send-ups of the Water Buffaloes and the Grand Poo-bah many years ago and also another society favoured by Mr C in the Happy Days show where he would don a Fez when visiting his lodge.
Here in Oz we attracted the much maligned nickname of "The Boozy Buffs" or the "Working Mans Masons" and whereas there has been an enormous amount of threads on the illustrious and secretive Masonic Order there has been little or nothing on the philanthropic order of Buffaloes or Elks.
Thought I would ask if the Elks are still alive and well in the US of A.

There are still Elks Lodges , they're just not as frequented as they were pre-1990. At least, that's how it is around me.

www.elks.org...

The Elks are still around but they are a dying breed. Most of the Elks that I know of are collecting pension checks. Those type of "societies" don't seem to be part of the younger crowd where i'm from anyways.

Bit of a shame really. I know next to nothing about the Elks but the Buffaloes are a philanthropic organization. Unlike the Lodges I visited in England, where you could turn up in casual dress with no tie, here in Oz a suit was mandatory and all regalia had to be worn when attending the lodge. It gave a sense of dignity, responsibility and respect to each other regardless of your occupation outside the lodge. The highest ranked member of a lodge could be your local garbage man. It made no difference whatsoever and gave ordinary people from everyday walks of life a sense of purpose. We raised many thousands, if not millions, over the years for many worthwhile charitable organizations as well as looking after fellow brothers who fell on unfortunate times. There were also a number of what were called "Ladies Glades" that served the same purpose.
I remember at one stage, the Grand Lodge in Melbourne had the entire cast of the stage show "Mame" amongst it's members and we would get it all for free! Also, many of them were in the hospitality industry working at the kitchens in Melbourne's finest hotels. Consequently we got Crayfish, King Prawns, Caviar etc., when we visited as against the usual cheese and lettuce sandwiches at our Mother lodges.
But, that was then, this is now and today's generation prefer something a little more exciting.