The Club was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization on September 6, 1923 under the name of the Lions Club of Marion, Illinois.
The Marion club was formed while the aftermath of the “Herrin Massacre” was being sorted out in the court rooms of the Williamson County court house. The first meetings were held in member Maurice Hayton’s garage, a car dealership at 603-05 N. Market Street.
On March 23 and 24 of 1927, the club sponsored the Lion’s State Convention at White City Park in Herrin, Illinois. It was the only state convention held in Southern Illinois. In order to accommodate those who attended the convention from distant cities, the railroad company located Pullman cars at Herrin for use as hotels.
By the 1930’s, during the depression, the membership got down to 13 members and the club was inactive from 1931 to 1934. In 1937, the Lion’s club was meeting at the Christian Church on N. Market St. with lunch served by the ladies of the church.
In 1976, the club had the opportunity to purchase the old C&EI railroad depot just off W. Main Street for $750 and had to lease the land which still belongs to the railroad. With an expenditure of about $13,000 in money and countless hours of volunteer labor the club was able to renovate the building for their use. The project provided the club with a meeting place, including a kitchen and equipment, and office rooms occupying half the floor space, yielding income from rental.
Ladies were admitted into the club in about 1990 as members, although the club has a separate Lioness Club which was chartered in 1977.
Since the clubs inception, it has lived up to its objective of encouraging service minded people to serve their community as evidenced by the clubs list of organized activities through the years since its charter was formed.
The Lion’s Club of Marion meet at the Lion’s Club Depot each Wednesday at 12:00 noon.
Outstanding Club Activities
1923-1927 No Recorded Activities
1927- 1928 Organized juvenile ball teams. Advertised County Fair. Organized Calf club and purchased calves.
1928- 1929 Contributed to Older Boys Conference. Cooperated with Business Women’s Club in staging a minstrel show for benefit of charity fund. Outfitted Patrol Boys with rain coats and caps.
1929- 1932 No Recorded Activities
1932- 1933 Purchased clothing for several school boys. Club was host to a group meeting of Lions Clubs.
1933- 1934 No Recorded Activities
1934- 1935 Organized and sponsored a Boy Scout troop. Collected and reconditioned used toys for poor children at Christmas. Contributed towards expense of sending the grade school band to the Century of Progress in Chicago to participate in the Egyptian Day program.
1935- 1936 Built a lodge for Boy Scouts of America, financing same with funds raised through sale of bonds and donkey baseball game with another service club. The club realized a profit of $120 from presentation of play. Furnished blind persons of Marion trade territory with white canes. Sponsored a Town Clean-up Campaign and furnished paint and oil for cleaning and painting the public hitching and parking grounds.
1936- 1937 Completed $5,000 house for Scouts. Purchased pneumonia serum for needy young man. Established agency for clothing and blankets for flood refugees. Assisted with Red Cross In delivering medicine and other supplies to flood area.
1937- 1938 Helped purchase uniforms for high school band. Contributed $25 to the Community Chest. Sent a boy to Hi-Y conference at Fort Wayne, Indiana. Promoted construction of a new bridge.
1938- 1939 Arranged for model gas airplane contest. Contributed toward purchase of Braille paper for WPA project. Supported movement for a radio station at Herrin.
1939- 1940 Furnished telephone for toy project. Contributed to and supported Invitational Track Meet of Marion Relays at Technical High School. Purchased raincoats, hats and boots for School Boy Patrol.
1940- 1941 Host to club-sponsored Boy Scout troop. Sponsored restoration of, and reconditioned court house clock. Helped Elks and local Sorority Club sponsor children’s party, and distributed gifts to several hundred children.
1941- 1942 Co-sponsored Children’s Christmas Party and distributed gifts. Sponsored Model Airplane Meet and awarded $50 In prizes. Contacted other organizations regarding Community Chest.
1942-1943 Purchased $300 in War Bonds. Sponsored Old Timers baseball game and raised $200 to finance sendoff party for selectees (WWII draftees). Assisted with scrap drive.
1943- 1944 Conducted Livestock Parade at County Fair. Sponsored purchase of truck for Boy Scout troop. Conducted waste paper drive. Sponsored high school football game.
1944- 1945 Assisted with other service clubs in giving Christmas party and baskets to needy. Co-sponsored Child Care Center with other civic clubs.
1945- 1946 Sponsored Child Care Center. Supervised playgrounds for grade and high school children. Conducted Auto Draw and netted $1,931 for summer grade school recreation program. Raised $31 for TB patient. Host to Welfare agent.
1946- 1947 Helped with Baseball Try-out Camp for boys. Sponsored Junior Baseball and Softball leagues, and escorted winners to professional game In St. Louis, Missouri.
1947- 1948 Raised $2,000 for Playground Program. Co-sponsored State League Ball Game and netted $132; gave medals. Bought two smoke masks for fire department. Sponsored Christmas Decoration contest and gave $55 in cash prize
1948- 1949 Sponsored Playgrounds; provided supervisors and paid salaries of $1,270; spent $355 for equipment. Donated $1,650 to Hospital fund. Donated $50 to pay hospital bill for injured boy. Contributed $500 to City Recreation fund.
1949- 1950 Entertained high school assembly group with Comic program. Aided in hospital drive. Operated stand at Carnival and netted $231 for Hospital fund.
1950- 1951 Participated In city’s summer playground program; donated to help pay expenses and aid in supervising activities. Gave $50 to school for street crossing lights and $250 to high school music department for robes for chorus.
1951- 1952 Donated $100 to Boy Scout Council for surveying new scout camp grounds. Donated $25 to West Frankfort mine disaster fund. Sponsored indoor circus of various types of birds.
1952- 1953 Donated $450 to hospital for training one nurse. Assisted city financially in conducting summer recreation program. Contributed $500 to Memorial Hospital toward equipment for new hospital.
1953- 1954 Donated $25 to memorial fund for deceased man. Donated $50 to church to apply on cost of redecorating basement. Organized bowling team. Assisted with visit of blood-mobile unit. Purchased electron hearing apparatus for deaf boy.
1954-1955 Operated service station and netted $43 of which $25 was donated to Little League team. Collected $25 for Hadley School for Blind and $25 for Leader Dog School. Sponsored team In Babe Ruth League.
1955- 1956 Presented awards in music and athletics to outstanding high school students. Donated $35 to county blood program. Donated $25 to flood relief fund. Assisted in clearing and improving the beach area at Little Grassy Lake for King Coal Council of Girl Scouts whose camp is located there. Co-operated with Salvation Army Fund drive and collected $1,224.76.
1956- 1957 Sponsored circus and netted $543.54. Donated $15 to retarded children’s fund, $15 to Hungarian relief, $25 to children’s Christmas party, and $25 to Audery Children’s Home for Christmas baskets.
1957- 1959 Presented awards to outstanding high school students. Held turkey shoot; netted $130. Sponsored team In Little League.
1959- 1960 Sponsored four stock car races; netted $2,020. Donated $100 in clothing to fire disaster stricken family, $75 to Eye Bank fund, and 25 blankets for refugees and disaster victims.
1960- 1961 Donated $25 to Illinois Federation of Blind. Donated $250 toward medical care for woman. Sponsored series of stock car races; netted $2,670. Donated $25 to Chamber of Commerce.
1961- 1962 Agreed to buy 100 street markers for the city with initial outlay of $1,000. Donated 1957 Plymouth car with several sports Items to Youth, Inc., with items to be raffled off and all proceeds to be given to the building fund of Youth, Inc.
1962- 1963 Donated $200 to the United Funds. Received $135 from TV program, sponsored by radio and TV stations. Held series of stock car races. Held sports banquet for all high school letter men.
1963-1964 Honored Junior League Champion Ball Players. Sponsored 22 newsboys at luncheon. Sponsored luncheon for South Seven Championship football team. Sponsored a telethon and realized $154.50 for aid of Crippled Children. Held shotgun raffle, realized $350. Participated in the Cerebral Palsy Telethon, realized $105. Distributed one white cane.
1965- 1966 Held TV Raffle, grossed $200. Sponsored Halloween party
1966- 1967 Donated $25 to the Marion United Fund. Donated $12.50 each to the Leader Dog Fund, Hadley School for the Blind, Eye Bank, and to CARE.
1967- 1968 Sponsored the Dale Carnegie Course. Held Lions Club Telethon, received $282 in pledges. Donated $30 to Cooperative Outdoor Education Project. Held Lions benefit Bar-B-Q, netted $1,975 for the Bethel AME Church.
1968- 1969 Donated $49 to pay for glasses for 2 needy children. Realized $1,200 from Bar-b-que. Sponsored Little League team at a cost of $200.
1969- 1970 Profited $418.50 from Sale of Lawn House numbers signs, proceeds to go to Mobile Glaucoma Screening Unit. Donated $85 for tuition to send a high school student to the national convention, of the “Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”
1970- 1971 Donated $130 to Boy Scouts for purchase of camping equipment. Contributed $100 to the Memorial All Faith Chapel Fund. Grossed $660 from Candy Day. Donated $25 to the Uganda Care Program. Donated $200 to the Marion Little League Baseball Team. Held Chili supper.
1971- 1972 Co-sponsored Shower of Stars and netted $280. Donated $20 to the East Pakistan Refugees. Contributed $260 each to Leader Dog and Hadley School for the Blind.
1972 to present The Marion Lion’s Club has four major projects that they work toward; the Marion Lighthouse Shelter, Hands of Hope, the School for the Hearing Impaired and the Marion Ministerial Alliance. Hands of Hope offers “no to low” cost health care for the needy and unemployed. Moneys accumulated through fund raisers go toward these projects.
(Data extracted from “History of Marion Lion’s Club 1923-2010 by William J. Novick, Lion’s Club records, Marion Street Directories; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 08/04/2013)