BULL ELKS ADMIT DOE TO LODGE : GROUP TO INITIATE LST WOMAN MEMBER.

Byline: Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

After 93 years of all-male fellowship, Long Beach Elkdom will soon welcome the first woman member into its fraternal fold, and its exalted ruler couldn't be happier.

Sandra Allen, a Seal Beach resident, will be initiated Nov. 25 into Long Beach Lodge 888 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. She won the necessary two-thirds vote of the membership last week.

Exalted Ruler Jim Isaacs, the head of a lodge whose membership has dropped 80 percent in recent decades, lobbied hard to get Allen accepted.

``Long Beach has always been the flagship of the 10 lodges in our district,'' Isaacs said, ``and it means a lot to me to be the first in the district to accept a woman member.

``With the financial problems we've faced and the drop in membership, it's important for us to welcome women. This is a great organization, and we want it to thrive.''

Allen, who will be out of town until early November, could not be reached for an interview.

Her acceptance is a big step for local Elks, who had firmly resisted admitting women to their ranks.

In February, the Long Beach lodge rejected the applications of two women, Virginia Severson and Dorothy Bryant. The final vote was 66 for acceptance, 65 for rejection - short of the necessary two-thirds majority.

``It took some time for the membership to get used to the idea,'' Isaacs said. ``Last winter, we weren't ready. Six months later, the time has come.''

The time has not come in Bellflower. In September, Mary Bridges was turned down overwhelmingly in her bid to join the Bellflower Elks lodge. A few days later, her husband was pressured to resign his post as lodge secretary.