SOME HISTORY NOTES FOR THE CRANBROOK LIONS CLUB
- The Cranbrook Lions Club was formed in the fall of 1947. The charter night celebration for the club was held on March 8th 1948, with 350 people in attendance. The club had 20 charter members with Harry Dorris as president. The club was sponsored by the Kimberley Lions Club.
- One of the club’s first big projects was to sponsor a rodeo at Moir Park. They did this for 3 years and lost money. For the next several years the club cut Christmas trees and held bingos in order to pay off their debt. About this time they started their Christmas Turkey cards which were a regular sight around town until 2016 when it was decided to discontinue this fund raiser.
- For quite a few years bingos were major fundraisers for the club. Originally they were held only once a year and were in the Memorial Arena. Eventually the Govt. took over the bingos with several bingo nights per year being allotted to various local groups. The Lions and others benefiting from the bingos helped out at their designated nights and in turn received money from the Gaming Commission.
- A few of the early club projects were the Girl Guide Camp at Moyie, as well as support for the “New Hospital” which opened in 1968, and for the Cranbrook Project Society. The Project Society was working to raise money for a new swimming pool and library. The first Walkathon was held to benefit this project (early 1970s). The walk raised over $10,000 and is often credited with providing the seed money to get this project underway,
- In 1976, phase 1 of Mountain View Village opened and in 1984 we opened phase 2. The Village contains approximately 70 units of affordable housing for low income seniors. This is the biggest single project undertaken by the club so far. A separate Lions Housing Society was formed to build and operate the facility. The Village was taken over by the BC Housing Corporation in the summer of 2016.
- In 1970 the club recognized the need for a safe “dry-grad” prom and we started the “All Night Grad Party”. The first party was held at the Scandinavian Hall (the Bluebird Inn). After the hall burned down the grad party was moved to the Curling Rink and in 1997 it was moved to the EKCC gym. It is interesting to note that when the Lions first sponsored the All Night Grad, the grade 11 class (with teacher and parent support) did the work required to organize the event and the Lions ‘hosted’ the evening. Parents were not invited to the actual dance. By the time the dance moved to the EKCC gym the grade 11 class was still involved and the parents had taken over the job of organizing and hosting the event. The Lions continued to be involved in a minor way for a few more years and eventually we moved on to other things. -
In 1988 the club received an unusual donation. A local woman whose handicapped daughter had been helped by the Cranbrook Lions donated her house to the club in her will. The house was then sold and all the proceeds were donated to the “BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities” (The BC Lions Society). Ongoing Lions projects:
- The Lions clubs of BC, through the “BC Lions Society” own and operate the Easter Seal House which is a home-away-from-home for the families of children who need medical treatment in Vancouver. It is located near the Children's Hospital. The Society also owns and operates 3 camps in BC which cater to children with special needs. These are Camp Winfield in the Okanagan, Camp Squamish located near Squamish, and Camp Shawnigan on Vancouver Island. Our club supports this Society. Ongoing Local Club Projects:
- Blue Lake Forest Education Society has a camp at Blue Lake near Canal Flats. We support the camp by providing “camperships” to the summer camps through the Boys and Girls Club. Several times a year Lions club members go to the camp and do chores like splitting and stacking fire wood, building new cabin bunks, and doing general camp cleanup.
- The Lions Foundation of Canada owns and operates a facility in Oakville, Ontario where dogs are trained to provide a variety of services such as Autism Assistance, Seizure Response, Canine Vision, Special Skills, Hearing Ear, and Diabetic Alert. Each year Lions from Cranbrook, Kimberley and Wasa sponsor a fund raising “Walk the Dog” event at Wasa. The Lions Foundation of Canada is a registered charity and is able to provide tax receipts for donations to this cause. The local clubs have raised over $50,000 for the Foundation during the past 10 years. This is enough to train 2 dogs. Currently there is one Lions Foundation trained dog in service in Golden and another one in Creston.
- Eyeglass recycling: Used eyeglasses are collected locally and sent to a facility in Alberta where they are cleaned, sorted and distributed world wide as needed. - Sam Steele Sweetheart candidate: The Cranbrook Lions have been a proud sponsor of this community event for 51 years. Several of our candidates have been chosen ‘Sweetheart’ over the years.
- Scholarship: The club has provides a substantial scholarship to a grade 12 student who is continuing his/her education at an approved college or university. - Sam Steele Parade: We participate in the Sam Steele festivities every year by marshalling for the parade.
- Christmas Light Up Tour for Seniors: We have put on this free evening tour for seniors to see the Christmas decorations for many years. The City provides the buses for the tour and the Eagles help us with the hall. Refreshments and entertainment (including a visit from Santa) are provided by the club after the tour.
- Santa Claus Parade: The club participates in this event on an annual basis. - Salvation Army Christmas Hampers: The club donates the funds for a number of turkeys to the Salvation Army every year for their Christmas hampers.
- We provide financial support for individuals who need help obtaining items such as glasses, dentures, hearing aids and wheel chairs. When funds permit we will assist with travel costs for families who are required to travel out of town for specialized medical care.
- Other organizations that receive financial help from the Cranbrook Lions are the Cranbrook Kimberley Hospice, Cranbrook Food Bank, Air Cadets, Army Cadets, Blind Golfers and Blind Curlers.
- The Cranbrook Lions recently helped construct and place two pit toilets along the Trans Canada Trail between Cranbrook and Wardner.
- Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF): The foundation is supported by Lions Clubs and by individual Lions (there are over 46,000 Lions clubs world wide). LCIF has provided more than US $800 million in disaster relief world wide and in support for health initiatives in third world countries. Their current projects are the eradication of measles world wide and the improvement of the treatment of diabetes.
- Current project: On June 8th we are celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Cranbrook Lions and the 100th Anniversary of Lions International with a Tour of the Cranbrook History Centre (including the Railway Museum) followed by Tea and Cake in the Royal Alexandra Hall. Tickets are free, but are required because of space limitations. They can be obtained by contacting Curtis Bell at 250- 420-1309 or Bob Baird at 250-417-3350.
PAST PRESIDENTS
1948-49--HARRY DORRIS 1983-84--LLOYD WILSON
1949-50--BUS JOHNSTON 1984-85--BOB DUTHIE
1950-51--DICK RENWICK 1985-86--BOB SPARLING
1951-52--BOB WILLIS 1986-87--DUSAN TADEY
1952-53--IRA McNAUGHTON 1987-88--JOHN STOWELL
1953-54--GARNET PATMORE 1988-89--ROGER SELBY
1954-55--HOWARD KING 1989-90--BILL INMAN
1955-56--CEC TILLER 1990-91--DALE OSTLUND
1956-57--GEORGE JEALOUS 1991-92--DENNIS SMITH
1957-58--WILSTON REILLY 1992-93--RON BATEMAN
1958-59--RON BAILEY 1993-94--JOE McLAUGHLIN
1959-60--DERRY APPLETON 1994-95--DALE OSTLUND
1960-61--BOB WHEELER 1995-96--RON BATEMAN
1961-62--BOB BARR 1996-97--RON BATEMAN
1962-63--RAY MEREDITH 1997-98--LLOYD WILSON
1963-64--HUGH CAMERON 1998-99--JOE McLAUGHLIN
1964-65--AL FLICK 1999-00--DALE OSTLUND
1965-66--ROY LINNELL 2000-01--DALE OSTLUND
1966-67--WALKER WILLIS 2001-02--GAIL SCHNELL
1967-68--ARCHIE BRYDEN 2002-03--AL MANJAK
1968-69--FRANK BERTOIA 2003-04--AL MANJAK
1969-70--GUS CONROY 2004-05--ROGER SELBY
1970-71--LORNE SHAPIRO 2005-06--ROGER SELBY
1971-72--PAT FENNESSY 2006-07--ROY BARNETT
1972-73--R.H. EAGLE 2007-08--AL MANJAK
1973-74--PIUS KAMBEITZ 2008-09--BOB DUTHIE
1974-75--ROGER SELBY 2009-10--BOB DUTHIE
1975-76--DON ANDERSON 2010-11--DALE OSTLUND
1976-77--NORM McEVOY 2011-12--DALE OSTLUND
1977-78--NORM McEVOY 20-1-13--JAMES HONG
1978-79--JOE PHILPOT 2013-14--JAMES HONG
1979-80--HARVEY MEIDINGER 2014-15--RON NAYLER
1980-81--BOB SPARLING 2005-16--RON NAYLER
1981-82--RICK HARKER 2016-17--FRED STEVENS
1982-83--DUSAN TADEY 2017-18--DALE OSTLUND
