Alliance Aerie #136 was organized and instituted by D. Bryan Hall on March 17th, 1901 with 49 charter members. The first meeting was held on Sunday March 24th, 1901 with 13 members present. The meeting was held in a hall above the Ed Marxs Harness Shop. Members’ dues were 75 cents, payable monthly. William McKinley was president, the average yearly wage was $432, 35 cents bought you a pound of coffee, and the Cornhuskers were coached by Walter “Bummy” Booth and played at Antelope Field in Lincoln. The Aerie met in various buildings, the food center market, and the service barber shop until 1927 when they built their own building downtown at a cost of $35,000. They remained in that building for 56 years, until 1983 when our present location was built. From 1941-1951 membership increased from 270 to 924 members.. Aerie #136 hosted State Convention in 1929, 1948, 1959 and 1967. The Aerie celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001. The Aerie has 5 Past State Worthy Presidents, Nels J. Pedersen 38-39, Arthur Reynolds 47-48, R.A. Engelhaupt 54-55, William “Bill” Heitz 79-80, Robert “Bob” Shores 08-09, and Dean Serl 2016-2017. Bill Heitz and Bob Shores have both served as West Central Regional Presidents. Bill Heitz was Grand Worthy Outside Guard 87-88. The Aerie currently has 1173 members!
The Auxiliary was originally instituted in 1929, with the charter being revoked in 1938. On March 4, 1951 the Auxiliary was re-organized by Freda Krause, and instituted by Milton Kalskett. The Auxiliary has 3 Past State Madam Presidents, Velma Engelhaupt 60-61, Alta Haslow 85-86, Klara Serl 07-08 and the currently serving State Madam President Nadean Rhoads. Edna Gies was the State Auxiliary Mother 96-97 and State Grandmother 02-03. Past State Officers Mary Weed 54-55, Dorothy Coleman 71-75; Klara Serl served as West Central Regional Madam President. Alta Haslow served as the Grand Madam President 92-93. The Auxiliary currently has 660 members.
The Aerie Social Room can seat around 100 and has 2 pool tables and one shuffleboard table that are free for members to use. The hall has a 2 station bar, dance floor, stage and can seat 400. Due to the seating capacity the hall is rented often. The Aerie has Thursday hamburger nights, with members served in the Social Room and open to the public in the Hall. Friday nights feature members only Fish Fry in the Social Room. Wednesday Bingo nights are popular with the Auxiliary serving food in the hall. We have monthly Stag nights, Bob’s card night, chicken fry, and Auxiliary chicken dinner Sundays. We take great pride in maintaining our Aerie home, and have recently renovated all our restrooms. We also eagerly support and promote the ideals of our organization and adhere to the 2 times a visitor, 3rd time a member principle. We donate thousands of dollars in our community, besides supporting our national charities.
Please stop by when you are in our area and enjoy our facility!