History of the Easton Lions Club
Under the sponsorship of the Trumbull Lions, The Easton Lions Club was chartered April 19, 1967. Lion Robert Monk served as the club’s charter president.
Easton is a residential community with no business district. It is with pride that the Easton Lion acknowledge the connection between Lionism and Helen Keller and the club’s long support of eye research.
In 1925 Helen Keller addressed the Lions International Convention and challenged the Lions to become her “Knights of the Blind.” Since then, Lions have played a major role in the fight against eye disease and in service to the blind. In 1936, following the death of her famous teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller needed a place where she could find privacy and solitude to continue her writing. She moved to Easton Connecticut and called her new home “Arcan Ridge.“
“It was a colonial house surrounded by meadows, woods, brooks, and stone walls.” Helen Keller wrote to a friend that “We have never loved a place more than Arcan Ridge.” She remained at Arcan Ridge until her death in 1968. The house still stands in a beautiful setting on Redding Road in the town the Easton Lions call their own.
In pursuing the Easton Lions interest in giving something back to the town, the Easton Lions have become generous contributors to the major causes supported by Lions International. In recent years, in recognition of their service to the club, numerous Easton Lion members have been designated as Melvin Jones Fellows and as Knights of the Blind.
The Easton Lions annually donate to and participate in a variety of local causes such as the Easton Senior Center, Little League, girls softball, girls hockey, Easton PTA, Barlow Post prom party, Police Explorers, Easton Historical Society, carbon dioxide detectors for senior citizens, defibrillators for town police cars, bullet proof vests for the Easton Police, and a thermal imaging camera for the Easton Fire Department.
Each year the club participates in the Memorial Day parade, and since 1969 has sponsored the annual Halloween bonfire and costume parade. From 1988 until 2000, the Easton Lions awarded a $1,500 Community Service Scholarship for a graduating senior.
The Easton Lions annually contribute to LCIF, CLERF, Camp Hemlocks, Fidelco, Diabetes, and. CRIS. The club has also made a sizable commitment to the Macular Degeneration project. Since its inception, the Easton Lions have contributed in excess of $220,000 to their community and communities throughout the world through Lionism.
Major fundraising activities have included annual antique shows and golf tournaments.
an excerpt from A Brief History of Lionism in Connecticut 2007 - see the website
