HISTORY OF SAN JUAN LIONS CLUB

The San Juan Lion’s Club was chartered on December 8th 1962. The Charter President was Sam R. Buck and the Secretary/Treasurer was Rev. John A. Dirks Jr.

Sam Buck and a Lion from the Oak Harbor Lion’s Club named Don Boyer were
instrumental in the establishment of our club. Organizational meetings were held during the summer and fall of 1962 in preparation for our charter night banquet and extravaganza. Don Boyer kept insisting that hundreds of Lions would come to the Island for the event. While many of
us didn’t really believe that the masses of Lions that Boyer had predicted, would make the journey to the Island, preparations were nonethe less made.

Don Boyer was right. The visitors had chartered a ferry for the evening
it landed at the slip, which at that time was located just below what is
now the Downriggers Restaurant. Hundreds and hundreds of Lions off loaded many in very colorful garb. It was truly an international group and included many Canadians of various nationalities. The common question asked by most of them was; "Where’s the bar?"

Arrangements had been made for a series of refreshment locations, I
believe there were four or five, on the way to the Hall Gymnasium. At the
Gym a banquet had been prepared by the school, and was served by the
students, to a packed house.

The program was typical of Lion’s Clubs and a predicator of the type of
Club that San Juan would become. Officers were installed. We were
presented with Lions Club paraphernalia, flags, podium, banner, gavel etc.
and also a pig, a small real life pig which was presented to our club to
replace the pig that had been shot in the pig war. The pig was later
auctioned off to add to the treasury of our Club.

Sam Buck was the ideal choice as the Charter President. He was a native
islander. He graduated from the local high school. He attended the
University of Washington. He served in the Navy. While in college he
organized groups to pack into junker cars, drive to Detroit and then
deliver new cars to Seattle auto dealers. Following the Navy and a very
brief career as a saddle bronk rider, he was in the hearing aid business,
the cosmetic business, the dry good business and at the time of his
presidency he had found his permanent career in insurance and real estate.

Respectfully Submitted:
July 2nd 2007
Warren Jones