WELLINGTON NORTH – This year marks the 85th anniversary for the Arthur Lions Club and its ongoing dedication to the community.
War efforts
Lions International was formed in 1917 by a Chicago business leader, Melvin Jones, in response to social problems created by the First World War and industrialization, noted Lions officials.
The Arthur club started in 1939 for similar reasons tied to the Second World War. The group assisted the war effort greatly and Arthur was recognized as Canada’s most patriotic village.
“That’s where a lot of the effort went for all of the clubs not just ours,” Arthur Lions Club treasurer Laird More told the Advertiser.
During this time the lions began sending kits overseas for soldiers that were filled with gloves, cigarettes and candy.
“Just the little things that soldiers were really happy to get because it was something from home,” noted More.
The club also contributed towards war bonds and began collecting them from area residents.
In the following decades the Lions participated in and organized hundreds of fundraisers, rallies, dances and initiatives to better their community.
In recent years the club has had 20 active members with a few hinting at joining soon, added More.
“I tell people I’m a lifer,” stated More, who’s been a member for 50-plus years.
He grew up watching his father become a charter member for the Lions Club in Jarvis, a small community in Haldimand County.
“I grew up seeing what they do and how they come together to make things happen,” he said.
Ever since More was a child, he knew he was going to be a Lion, “there was just no question.”
“I’ve benefited so much from that club [Jarvis Lions] it was just a natural that I had to give back,” he added.
More moved to Arthur in 1976 and continued his journey as a lion by transferring his membership.
“Whatever the need is, you try to fill it,” he noted.
After 50 years, More’s dedication to his community and to the club hasn’t wavered.
“It’s been an honour to be a member this long … it’s a great organization,” he said.
President of the lions
Lion Mike Marshall, who has been serving as club president for the last two years, has lived in Arthur since his high school days.
“It was probably my best friend Brent Barnes who got me into the Lions,” Marshall told the Advertiser.
Barnes was a committed Lion for many years before he died in December of 2018.
He now has a skate park named after him in honour of his time with the club.
Marshall joined in 1992 and watched as the club changed and evolved.
“[Being] president is probably one of the easiest jobs being in the Lions Club,” Marshall said.
“You’ve got all these people bringing you ideas and you just sit there and listen.”
He explained when he first joined the club there was “hardly” ever a repeat in presidency.
Because there were 46 charter members in the beginning, a lineup to the top began making it hard for others to have more than one term.
