Cuba City Lions Club at 60

Congratulations to the Cuba City Lions Club for celebrating its 60th anniversary!

According to the June 14, 1962 issue of the Tri-County Press, 31 members signed up for the newly organized service club sixty years ago. The following officers were elected: Dr. Robert Love, president; George McQuade, secretary; Meldon Alt, treasurer; Harold Ries, 1st vice president; John Sauer, 2nd vice president; Fred Beinborn, 3rd vice president; Russell Shannon, lion tamer; Clifford Kirk, tail twister; W. Summers and Laverne Guler, two-year trustees; Leonard Porter and Edward Helbing, one-year trustees.

Despite the 60th anniversary celebration, Cuba City's connection to the Lions Club goes back even further. The current organization is the third Lions Club to organize in the city's history. Earlier groups were formed in 1936 and 1946. 

The following history of the club was compiled for the organization's 25th anniversary in 1987:

"A Lions Club has been chartered on three different occasions in Cuba City.

The first Lions Club in Cuba City was chartered on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 1936. This club had 25 chartered members and was sponsored by the Dubuque Lions. The charter night was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall with a night of dining and dancing.

The second Cuba City Lions Club charter night was held on Thursday, December 12, 1946 in the old grade school gym. Twenty-four members were on the charter roll, which was sponsored by the Benton Lions Club. One of their first major projects was the building of their own Lions Club Building. This cement block building was built by members at a cost of approximately $800. The building was used for meetings until about 1960, when this building had to be used as a classroom because of over-crowded conditions in the public schools. With no place to hold monthly meetings, the club soon faded out. It should be noted that the Lions always had a strong men's basketball team during the 1950's.

Lionism was idle for only a short time, when once again the Cuba City Lions rechartered for the third time on May 24, 1962, with 38 members joining.

The meetings were again held at the Lions Club Building with members taking turns preparing the meal. As years passed, meetings were held at area night clubs. The building was then sold to the City of Cuba City for $1.00 and was used as the meeting place for the scouts and other interested groups in the community.

The present club once had a total high of 114 members. The club members have been continuously involved in projects for the state and community donating thousands of dollars to help others. Some of the major projects include: the building of the Splinter Park concessions stand in 1977, purchasing a wheelchair lift for a student in 1980, flag poles at Splinter Park in 1981, a microwave, and electric stove and donations to the Tri-State Independent Blind Society in 1981, 1982 and 1983, helped purchase new band uniforms for the high school in 1981, a new fence for the ball park in 1982, lumber, etc. for the new shelter house in the city park in 1984 at a cost of $5,500, a hip sled for the high school football program in 1984, purchased and distributed Christmas gifts to nursing home patients every year, grave markers for all deceased Cuba City Lions, donated to the Benton Park Fund, paid for limestone for the city ball field, also awarded scholarships every year and donated to the Wisconsin Lions Foundation. As this spring approaches, the Boy Scout Headquarters and Office Building at Apple River, Illinois, is about to be completed by an energetic group of Lions who worked weekends on the project.

Club committee members have remained very active, as they are always well represented at parades in the area and in civic and local functions.

Club leadership has been excellent in promoting Lionism with Cuba City sponsoring the Dickeyville, Platteville and Darlington Lions Clubs and also sponsoring our own Cuba City Lioness Club this year."

Cuba City is fortunate that its Lions Club, along with the Lioness and Leo Clubs, continue to serve the community after all of these years.