A STORY OF SERVICE

50 YEARS OF LIONISM IN THE TOWN OF ORANGEVILLE

Fifty years ago twenty-one Orangeville citizens interested in the social, business and civic problems and potential of this community banded together to form a Lions Club under a Charter of Lions International. These twenty-one men had a common purpose and the thought that by many working together the most could be accomplished for the betterment of the Orangeville community.

From those early days in 1949, when the Club met in the Grand Central Coffee Shop owned by the late Lion Ray Muir, to our present day membership of seventy-three members, meeting twice a month in the Orangeville Legion hall, an outstanding trail of service has unfolded. Far be it for the Club to boast, because if it could not produce a better Orangeville in which to live, then it would have failed in its objectives. Perhaps one of the factors in the success of the Orangeville Lions Club has been its ability to couple fun with work. By so doing it has provided funds for many necessary community enterprises and earned the respect of all.

Those who can remember the boys and girls of Orangeville lining up at the town hall to board buses to go to Fergus for swimming lessons once a week, during the hot summer months, learned to appreciate the Lions pool which was later built in Idylwyd Park. The construction of this pool, by the members of the Lions Club provided the members with on-the-job training for the first-hand contractors and the boys and girls of this community with an opportunity to learn to swim under supervision for many years. It was, therefore, with great joy that the members of the Lions Club were happy to make the first donation to commence the Arena Sports Complex Building Fund with a kick-off donation of $10,000.00, and make a new indoor pool possible.

The annual Minstrel Show, held for many years, provided another source of fun and another source of funds when the members blackened their faces, poked fun at one another along with other members of the community, and the three nights that packed the Town Hall auditorium took the place of the present Winter School Break.

The Lions first financed and established safety patrols for school children in the Town of Orangeville and employed the first crossing guard on West Broadway.

One could go on and on and list such things as the girls bowling, the St. Patrick's dance, the Light Bulb Blitz, the Easter Seal Campaign, contributions to sight conservation, the annual Santa Claus Party, the support of the 4-H Calf Clubs, the gift of books to the Library, the annual two day Village Fair, the gift of a Pediatric Ward to Dufferin Area Hospital, and the support of our youth in all its endeavours in sports.

During our Club's existence as a vital unit of Lions International, we have successfully met the challenge of Lionism and have made Orangeville a better place in which to live.

By 1974 only five of the original Charter Members remained active in the Club. Lionism is firmly entrenched in the Town of Orangeville and for many years to come the motto "We Serve" will be the badge worn by its members and enjoyed by this community.

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