Alliance attorney helping renovate Cantell Elks ballroom

ALLIANCE − Cantell Elks Lodge 1417 has been serving the Alliance area for nearly 70 years.

Most of that time, it has been at the corner of Ash and South Webb streets, across from the Amtrak train station. The gathering place also neighbors the Martin Luther King Jr. Viaduct near the city's downtown area.

Until recently, the Cantell Elks had a spacious yet completely unusable ballroom on its second floor. It was tattered and torn. Years of neglect.

Not anymore.

Local attorney and longtime member Jeff Jakmides has been financing renovation work on the 5,000-square-foot ballroom, getting it back in shape and available for all kinds of functions. He estimates he has personally spent almost $100,000 on the work.

Jakmides, 72, said he was looking to leave a legacy, something that would "last beyond" him, and restoring the ballroom fit the bill. It will allow the benevolent organization, chartered on Nov. 13, 1954, to expand its services and offer people another choice for events.

Cantell Elks, located at 735 Ash St., has 33 active members, and 58 total. Its sister organization, the Gladys Merrell Temple No. 1049, also resides there. The building was built in 1903. It originally housed the Romanian Society until Cantell Elks bought it in 1972, members said.

Cantell Elks is a separate organization from Alliance Elks Lodge 467.

"We're very thankful for Jeff for spearheading the funding efforts to help revitalize this particular space," said Randy Clark, treasurer and trustee. "We look forward to being able to use it. We have a lot of events at the Cantell." Gatherings include such events as dances, parties, receptions and graduations.

Rental fees could boost two college scholarship funds

Cantell Elks and Gladys Merrell offer two college scholarships − Art Malone Memorial Scholarship and Homer Lockett Remembrance Scholarship − for area students. Recently, two Marlington High School students were awarded $1,200 each.

Jakmides said he initially planned to just donate money to the scholarships but the ballroom project gave the organization the chance to do more. For example, Clark said the rental fees from the ballroom could boost both scholarship funds to provide full tuition awards.

"We hope to use the money that we raise from renting the facility as a funding mechanism for our (scholarship) funds, which we started in 2023," Clark said. "We dispersed our first scholarships in May."

The new-look ballroom will keep regular customers relaxed

Like other lodges, Cantell Elks has a bar that serves food, with TV and state-regulated gaming machines, on the first floor. It's the place to relax and enjoy. They also host fundraisers, sponsors youth sports and skating parties, and hold holiday events, including Easter Egg hunts and Trunk-or-Treat for kids.

However, Exalted Ruler Keith Avery said the "regular customers" felt awkward and left out when a function or event took place on the first floor. Those same customers didn't want to pay a cover charge if the event had one. So they stayed away from the lodge.

The ballroom, Avery said, should eliminate this situation.

"Having access to come up here and have a lot of our Elk events is going to be great for the Lodge and the Temple," Avery said. "It also allows our regular customers not to have to find another place to come and relax and watch TV."

Jakmides said there is some work still to be done in the kitchen area, which remains in disrepair, and a few other amenities are needed. However, the ballroom − which includes a stage − is ready for events, and it includes the original flooring, which was restored.

"We can't save the world, but we're going to try and save a little piece of it," he said.

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com . On X (formerly Twitter): @bduerREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance attorney helping renovate Cantell Elks ballroom