Stewardson Lions Club  •  Chartered 1956

The Stewardson Lions Club was organized on February 6, 1956.  With Neoga Lions Club as the sponsoring club, 25 individuals answered the call to be charter members of the Stewardson Lions Club.  James T. Harrison was the first President, and Ralph Beals the first Secretary.

When the club began, meetings were held on the upper floor of the bank building on the corner of Pine and Main Streets.  Later, the club purchased a building on South Pine Street, three doors down from the Post Office, for its meetings.  That first building was later traded for a neighboring building, and the club met there until 1999.  The club donated that building to the village so it could be razed to make way for the Stewardson Community Center.  The club now meets in the Community Building.

Many community activities have been sponsored and/or funded by the Lions.  One of the first projects of the club was cleaning the block that is now the village park on West Main Street.  To celebrate the cleaning of the grounds, the Lions held a Wiener Roast for the children of the community in 1956.  That Wiener Roast is still held annually.  The club also held it first community sale in 1956 and continued that fundraiser until 2002.

In 1957, they held their first Homecoming Celebration and they continued through 2020.  Shelter for the first Homecoming Celebration was provided by tarps strung between trees at the park.  The first, of two pavilions was built in 1958, with lumber from trees the Lions cut from the park and sent to the sawmill.  Also, in 1957, the club began distributing Christmas Fruit Baskets to area residents, that practice continues today.

In 1960, the Lions took on the project of building restrooms in the park, as well as backng a loan for a new fire truck.  In 1961, the club began a tradition that continues to date, hosting an Easter Egg Hunt.  The club also began sponsoring the annual athletic banquet (in cooperation with the Strasburg Lions) for Stewardson-Strasburg HIgh School.

The club has sponsored the summer baseball program since 1961.  Improvements at the ballpark include restrooms, a concession stand and equipment building, and four sets of bleachers.  Along with providing umpires, equipment, shirts, and insurance for the players, the club operates the concession stand and treats the summer baseball program participants to a trip to St. Louis, Missouri to see a major league baseball game at Busch Stadium (home of the St. Louis Cardinals).

The club built its first bus stop for area students in 1981.  That grew to a high of five.  Currently there is one remaining.

Over the years, the club has donated to projects such as permanent village Christmas decorations, new basketball backboards at the high school, and the building fund for the Stewardson Historical Museum.  The club also assisted in funding for the new basketball court in the park, as well as constructed a concrete stage.

As part of the Homecoming Celebration, the club sponsored a car show from 1992-2011.  Other fundraisers include a Pancake Breakfast that began in 1997, and a Soup Supper that began in 2009.

Other community activities include supplying workers for local blood drives, participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program, sponsoring the St. Jude's Bike-A-Thon, and providing eyeglasses for area needy residents.  Donations are made to local post prom activities, scholastic awards banquet, local fireworks display, PBIS school functions, Crossroads Classic volleyball tournament, and the yearbook.  The club, in cooperation with the Historical Museum, Fire Department, and C.O.W.S. hold the annual Halloween Celebration.  In addition to local community activities, the club donates to Leader Dogs for the Blind, Hadley School for the Blind, and the Mary Bryant Home. 

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.