By Jeff Helsdon
Editor
The Tillsonburg Lions Club is marking a century in existence this month.
The group started in October 1924, with its first meeting at the Arlington Hotel in Tillsonburg. The Windsor Lions Club sponsored the Tillsonburg group, and today, the Tillsonburg Lions are the eighth oldest Lions Club outside of the United States.
The original president was C.H. Denton of Denton and Vance Real Estate.
“The Lions Club internationally was started by Melvin Jones,” said past-president Dave Beres. “He was an insurance man. It started as a businessmen’s club.”
Through the past century, the Lions have made their mark in town, and several notable town assets bare testament to the work of club members.
It didn’t take long for the Lions to start making a difference. The second president, C.V. Thomson, was a First World War veteran who held the position from 1925 to 1926.
“He was instrumental in having the cenotaph erected in front of the old town hall,” said club historian and past-president Terry Fleming.
During the Second World War, the Lions sent many care packages overseas.
“To this day, we still support veterans’ programs,” Fleming said.
The meetings moved from the Arlington Hotel to the old community centre adjacent to Lake Lisgar, which was then the museum. The remainder of the building is now the home of the rowing club. Lions members were amongst the first to propose the concept of a new community centre, and when the Tillsonburg Community Centre complex was built in 1972, the Lions and Kinsmen took on various projects associated with the construction.
“The Lions decided to take the commitment for the auditorium,” Beres said.
Interestingly, the large painting of the lion that now hangs in the Lion’s Auditorium was painted years earlier by Alfred Raynes, a Lions member and the town clerk.
In 1976, when a second ice pad, which is now the Colin Campbell Community Arena, and the Lion’s Den were added, the Lions Club was behind the space that bears their name. The club still meets in the Lion’s Den the first and third Tuesday of every month, with the exception of summer.
The club started its elimination draw, which lasted five years, in the late 1970s to pay off the debt from the Lion’s Den and fund other community projects.
The Lions and Kinsmen both stepped up in 1996 when the town’s outdoor pool was facing closure.
“Back then they were going to close that pool,” Beres recounted. “It had structural problems, and it wasn’t working.”
The outdoor pool was turned into the waterpark that town residents enjoy today without any money from municipal taxes.
Outside of the facilities that bear the club’s name, there are many other town projects the club contributed to. In 1951, when the first elevator was installed at Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, the Lions paid 100 per cent of the cost. The club also kicked in when the hospital expansion took place in 1980. They have also contributed to Sakura House and the Victorian Order of Nurses.
The Lions have supported sports teams over the years, often sponsoring a team in many leagues. They also contributed when the new soccer park was built.
One constant that has contributed to the Lions' fundraising for decades is the Monday night bingo. This started in the museum building in 1967. Ben Johnson Sr. was the first caller. This event continues today, taking place in the Lion’s Auditorium for the past few decades.
Another Lions fundraiser has been bringing top-name entertainers to town. The club brought Stompin' Tom Connors, who wrote the song Tillsonburg, to town three times.
“Jack Whitmore was the only one who could talk to him,” Beres recounted. “I think he was a friend of the family he (Connors) worked in tobacco for. There was a connection there somehow.”
Other entertainers the club was behind performing in town include Kitty Wells, Guy Lombardo and Little Jimmy Dickens.
And then there’s helping the visually impaired, which is the charity of Lions on an international basis.
“The big thing we’re doing is sight,” said past-president Bruce Kendrick. “We distribute (used) glasses. We have a group that will redistribute these glasses to Third-World countries free of charge.”
He said this dates back to 1925 when Helen Keller challenged the Lions to be “knights of the blind at the international convention.”
Thirty years ago, river blindness – a mosquito-borne disease – was an epidemic in Africa. Medication was discovered to prevent it, but the challenge was the cost. The Lions took this on internationally and have eliminated river blindness.
The Lions locally contribute to Guide Dogs, Camp Joe for the Blind, Camp Dorset for people on dialysis, and Camp Fire Circle in Waterford for children with cancer.
The Lions are celebrating their 100th anniversary with a gala and are selling tickets for the Oct. 19 event. Tickets are $50 and include entertainment. Anyone interested in tickets can contact Blair and Kelly Oatman at 519-842-2318 or bkoatman@hotmail.com
The anniversary celebration is with a small dark shadow in the background. Like many service clubs, the Lions have low numbers. The situation isn’t dire, with 37 members, but the average membership is 45 and has reached 80.
The club is looking for new members.
“We’re open for couples,” Beres said. “We have a lot of couples whereas other service clubs don’t promote that, we do.”
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