Fraternal organizations - what's happened to them? (father, person, member)
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I live in a small city of about 50,000. The Fraternal Order of Moose used to run a large gym and swimming pool complex for the public. Over time, their footprint has substantially declined - they've gone from a prominent position to basically a drinking establishment on the fringe of downtown. Same with the Eagles - they're hanging on, but barely. American Legion is also suffering from declining membership in the area.
Why are these organizations having so much trouble? Are they in decline where you live?
It's just the changing of society. The WWII generation, and earlier, were "joiners". Masons, Moose, Elks, Kiwanis, etc. We Baby Boomers were less so.
The following generations appear to be even less.
One of the reasons may be due to the transience of people today. When people pretty much worked at the same place their entire life it was easier to make the connections and join those various organizations.
Today, when the average tenure with an employer is under ten years and then you move on, and maybe move to another area, those connections either aren't very strong or they're not even being made.
Note to the Millennials: belonging to one of those organizations, as well as the local country club, was once considered almost required for managers and a good opportunity to network.
As for me, I wouldn't want to belong to any organization that would accept me as a member.
I also think there are just so many other individualized options these days for activities and opportunities to socialize that are tailored to specific interests (dance, martial arts, sports, etc). tbh, I've never seen a Moose/Elk lodge or VFW that had any serious type of facility like you describe - I would go to a YMCA or fitness center for something like that. I guess I was never clear on what exactly lodges did besides congregate. Probably because it was pretty much entirely men, so that wouldn't be something on my possibilities radar anyway.
Note to the Millennials: belonging to one of those organizations, as well as the local country club, was once considered almost required for managers and a good opportunity to network.
That might be part of the downfall. The Old Boys' Network doesn't appeal to people who aren't old boys.
I also think there are just so many other individualized options these days for activities and opportunities to socialize that are tailored to specific interests (dance, martial arts, sports, etc). tbh, I've never seen a Moose/Elk lodge or VFW that had any serious type of facility like you describe - I would go to a YMCA or fitness center for something like that. I guess I was never clear on what exactly lodges did besides congregate. Probably because it was pretty much entirely men, so that wouldn't be something on my possibilities radar anyway.
It was definitely a different world than it is today. That said though, while the actual organization was just for men, most of them also had 'women's auxilliary' groups as well where the wives gathered and connected.
It was definitely a different world than it is today. That said though, while the actual organization was just for men, most of them also had 'women's auxilliary' groups as well where the wives gathered and connected.
I'm not sure what some of the other lodges had, but the Masons had DeMolay for the boys and Job's Daughters for the girls. When those organizations became less attractive to teenagers, there went the next generation of Masons.....
I think these organizations are losing appeal. They have a small presence where I live but for the most part I think the younger generations don't care much for them. As IndyDancer points out there are many clubs, sports leagues, etc that cater to specific interests. For example, I am part of a badminton league and a ski club because those two involve activities that I really enjoy doing.
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