History of the Grantham Lions Club Back in 1952, the Port Dalhousie Lions Club formed a committee to survey the area and determine if the work of Lionism could be expanded by the formation of anew Lions Club. At that time the population of Grantham Township was increasing and every indication that a Lions Club could be formed was evident. By working with the Grantham Police Chief Norman Fach, an organized meeting was held on Friday March 7 1952 at Maplewood School, with 30 men in attendance and chaired by Lion Jerry Galaway of the Port Dalhousie Lions Club. The consensus of those present was that they would form a new club known as the Grantham Lions Club and Cecil Secord was duly elected as our first president, while waiting for the Charter to come through other men were contacted and by the time the Charter was issued on May 2nd 1952, the membership had reached 71 members. In 1952 our club started looking for a piece of property that could be used as a park. The club purchased 7.5 acres of land at the corner of Niagara St. and lakeshore Rd. And in July 1954 a ten year lease was signed with the Grantham School Board, for property adjacent to Port Weller School and owned by the Board. A stipulation was that this property be used as a recreation area; 1 year later we accepted an offer to purchase this property for $5000. In 1957 the washrooms were built including a small area from which refreshments could be sold, this was changed into an administration office in 1959. Also in 1957 the club undertook the largest venture in our brief 25 year history; sponsoring a Rodeo, this will long be remembered by our members as a very interesting and exciting event. Especially building the fence and Judges tower, the Rodeo was very successful and well attended but financially it wasn’t too good as our expenses ate up all the profit and what was hoped to be an annual event was short lived even through some of the members figured we should carry on for least another year, seeing as we had the facilities and the know how to produce it with out having to hire outsiders. Our community projects over the years like other Lions Clubs have been many; our sports park of course has been our main effort in providing a community service. This park is centrally located in the north end of the city is used extensively during the summer months. It’s completely fenced in and yet always opened to the public. Sports have been one of our continuing projects over the years. The success of the Grantham Lions fundraising over the years has been Fish Fry every month, Bingo on alternate Sundays, Youth Dances on alternate Fridays, Fertilizer Sale in April, Journey for Sight in May, Carnival in June, Turkey Roll in November and New Years Eve Dance in December. The Grantham Lions Club sponsors local Hospitals for equipment, children centers, Lions Eye Care, Camp Trillium, Camp Dorset (Dialysis), Lake Joseph Camp for the Blind, Seeing Eye Dogs, Salvation Army, Community Care of St. Catharines, and Diabetes Association. To date the Grantham Lions Club has 56 members, some of the longest standing Lions have 40 years such as David Moore, Bill Dolha, Ross Wilson, and Keith Penwell. At the Grantham Lions Club our slogan is “WE SERVE” |
Grantham Lions Club
| Serving the community since 1952 |
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| Alzhemer's Assoc Boys & Girls Club Canadian Red Cross Camp Trillium Child Advocasion Chrons & Colitis CNIB Program CNIB Lake Joseph Community Care Cystic Fibroses Society Diabetes Awarness FACS Hamilton Health Sciences Help A Child Smile Hotel Diu Hospital (Shaver) Hospice Niagara LCIF (Lions Foundation) Learning Disabilities Assoc Lions Effective Speaking Lions Quest Lions Vitamin Defiency Lions Journey For Sight Lions Eye Care Niagara Lions Camp Dorset Lions Homes for the Deaf Lions Foundation of Canada Lions Camp Kirk Lions Youth Exchange Linhaven Home for the Aged Local Youth Sports Activities Mental Health St. Catharines Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Niagara Child Development Niagara Peninsula Children Center No Child Without Social Services Spins Bifida Foundation St. Johns Ambulance St. Catharines Assoc. Community St. Catharines General Hospital The Arthritis Society The Kidney Foundation The Salvation Army Wellspring Niagara |