ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130139
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS ONCE RULED the social landscape of American life. A generation without "joiners" is getting blamed for a sharp decline in membership rolls.
Elks, Moose and Lions are on the verge of becoming endangered species in America's cities. Many people, it seems, are just too busy to join fraternal and service organizations.
Membership in most such clubs, which offer a place to socialize and do charity work, has dropped considerably over the last 20 years.
Some blame television or other in-home entertainment. One organizer finds the Vietnam War responsible, because it led to ``a generation of men who weren't joiners.''
Not all the news is bleak. Because of country life's slower pace, rural lodges and chapters are alive and well. Also, some clubs show recent signs of growth after opening their doors to women or broadening activities to include families.
Consider, for example, the Loyal Order of Moose.
``Over the past 20 years, membership was considerably down. We are seeing an upward trend recently. Organizations tend to go in cycles,'' said Dennis Marcinizyn, administrator of the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge in Woodbridge, Va.
Tougher drinking laws have had an effect, he said, and in response, the lodge is refocusing its programs toward family activities.
Location also has had an impact on membership.
``In rural areas, it's what people have to do, it's their social life,'' Marcinizyn said. But, in more urban areas, such as his Washington suburb, ``there are probably 100 restaurants within five miles. There is so much of a choice.''
The reasons for flat or declining membership in most service and fraternal clubs echoes changes in American society.
``Years ago, men were more interested in spending time with other men,'' said Michael Andrews at Shriners headquarters in Tampa, Fla. ``Lodge meetings were stag.''
Membership in the group, which supports children's hospitals, has fallen to around 600,000 from 940,000 in 1970, Andrews said. But he sees things turning around as the Shriners switch their focus to family and service to community.
``We suffered an awful lot because of Vietnam, when young men didn't want to join large organizations. There was a generation of men who weren't joiners,'' he said.
``Today, we are seeing men coming back to join for altruistic reasons. They want to give back to society.''
The story is the same at the Elks. Membership has fallen some 300,000 since 1980, although it remains at more than 1.2 million across the country, according to spokesman Frank Garland.
``The older generation were more inclined to be social while the baby boomers are too busy to get involved,'' he said. He added the younger members ``are involved and are very good, but the number is smaller.''
Elks membership is stronger in rural areas and small towns, and a rules change a year ago permitting women to join has helped, Garland said.
Lions Club membership in the United States is about 500,000, down slightly, according to spokeswoman Karen Goldsmith in Oak Brook, Ill.
``Our current membership is getting older and we are finding it difficult to attract baby boomers'' who already have busy lives, she said.
``There's just a lack of free time out there,'' she said. ``It's easier to write a check'' than join a service organization like the Lions, which raises money to assist people with vision problems.
The organization is coping by using flexible meeting times and is attracting young families by focusing on children.
Robert D. Putnam of Harvard University sees the decline in memberships as a turning away from society to a more individualized life.
``The most obvious and probably the most powerful instrument of this revolution is television,'' Putnam wrote in ``Bowling Alone,'' an essay he published in the Journal of Democracy.
Increased mobility, fewer marriages, more divorces and a drop in real wages may also account for the decline in civic engagement, he wrote.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB