Regular Clubs, Extraordinary Clubhouses
by Jay Copp

If you’ve seen one Lions clubhouse, you certainly have not seen them all. Most clubs make do with utilitarian quarters—tidy free-standing halls or square rooms within multipurpose buildings. These are perfectly fine. But a few clubs enjoy spaces with marvelous vistas, distinctive architecture or quirky histories. There are clubhouses and then there are clubhouses with style, panache and pizzazz.

So here are some regular clubs gifted with unusual clubhouses. Enjoy the view. The Lions of these clubs certainly have for years.

Editor’s note: Proud of your clubhouse? Let THE LION Magazine know what makes it special and we may include it in a follow-up story. E-mail the editor at jay.copp@lionsclubs.org or write the magazine.

St. Petersburg Lions Club, Florida
St. Petersburg Lions are accustomed to an interruption of their meetings, but it’s a break they welcome. “When the sun goes down, everybody stops to watch the sunset. It’s beautiful. Then we get back to work,” says Michelle Beauchesne, president. Located on Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, the clubhouse overlooks the Gulf of Mexico.
The club was chartered in 1925 and members built the cinder-block clubhouse in the early 1930s. A large bay window overlooks the water. The club also owns an apartment next door where the clubhouse manager lives. Members are free to use the shower if they spend time at the beach before a meeting or event.

The 48-member club raises funds for its foundation by renting out the clubhouse. Non-profit groups are allowed to use the clubhouse at no charge.

Lawton Lions Club, Michigan
Located in the “fruit belt” of southwest Michigan, the Lawton Lions don’t cultivate the vineyards that surround them but they’ve squeezed new life into a moribund local institution. The Lions meet in a cobblestone winery that dates from 1903, the state’s oldest standing winery. They bought the building in 1990 when it was empty and in shambles. Thanks to funds raised from the community, a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation, judicious borrowing and 250,000 volunteer hours, they’ve transformed the site into a thriving community center. “We built it. We’re really proud of it,” says Kermit Washburn, club president. “This is our second home.”

The Lawton Community Center includes a banquet room with a full kitchen, a gym and a museum highlighting the local wine industry and days of yore. The 24-member club rents the facility on weekends, allows non-profit groups to use it for free during the week and holds a weekly bingo game.

The heyday for the winery was in the 1930s under the ownership of William Houpert, who hailed from a long line of French wine masters. Using 200-year-old German casks, the winery did a brisk business until a spark from a passing steam train sent the business up in flames. Some 100,000 gallons of wine flowed into a nearby creek, and the 100 firefighters battling the blaze found themselves pumping wine water from the creek on the blaze, fighting fire with firewater, as it were. And as a booklet on the winery wryly notes, the firefighters were not able to save the building but they went home happy because part of their job was to rescue its contents.

The winery is part of history but the wine still flows at the clubhouse. The club hosts a festival featuring nearly 20 Michigan wineries, and Cabernet and Merlot are imbibed at the weddings and other weekend events at the community center. And don’t let anyone tell you that Lions are only beer drinkers. “Heavens no,” says Washburn.

Eagle River Lions, Alaska
Nearly all the Eagle River Lions hunt, fish or zip around in snow machines (known as snowmobiles in the Lower 48), so their clubhouse, nestled against a mountain range and featuring a spectacular view from its balcony, is particularly apt. “You never get tired of it [the scenery in Alaska],” says Steve Grohol, club president. “People who leave Alaska and come back say they do so for two reasons: the people and the scenery.”

Built in the mid-1970s, the clubhouse is fitting in another way: located in a 40-acre plot leased by Lions from the state, it’s a reminder of the recreational activities made possible by the club. The Eagle River Lions Community Park includes a children’s playground, softball and baseball fields, and basketball and tennis courts. Often working with the Sleeping Lady Mountain Lions Club, the club also serves meals, donates food baskets, support scholarships and holds a children’s ice fishing tournament and an Easter Egg hunt (often in the snow).

Located 18 miles north of Anchorage, Eagle River has 25,000 residents. “We’re not exactly in the boonies,” says Grohol. Club members hold all kinds of jobs. Grohol is a safety specialist for FedEx. Gerard McIntyre installs and repairs computers and security systems.  Chuck DuCharme (pictured), a past president, is a quality insurance inspector for the U.S. Air Force. Their jobs may not be that much out of the ordinary, but they work in rare surroundings. Bald eagles are “pretty common,” says Grohol. “Driving home [from work] I’ll probably see one or two flying overhead.”

Slidell Lions Club, Louisiana
Chartered in 1928, the Slidell Lions Club is the oldest service group in town. But its clubhouse, a stately wooden home, is a decade older. A Lion for more than 50 years, W.A. Baker and his wife, Lois, donated the home to the club in 1982. The Bakers lived there from the mid-1940s until 1968, when the home was used as rental property.

Slidell was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Lions lost or sustained heavy damage to their homes and businesses. But because the Baker home was built six feet above the ground to forestall flooding, only the roof sustained damage. That’s been repaired.

Lions also picked up the shattered pieces of their personal lives. Club president Eric DuBuisson and his wife, Mary, club secretary, had to shut down their dry cleaning business after it took on more than six feet of water. Their home was engulfed with four feet of water. But they’re back in their home and they now work for a non-profit that helps the disabled through a dry cleaning venture.

The club itself found that the storm had a silver lining. With the damaged casinos closed, the club’s bingo game became wildly popular, and the club was able to dramatically increase its support of good causes.

Grainfield Lions Club, Kansas
It’s called the Grainfield Opera House but that was a misnomer since its very beginning. Built with limestone in 1887 in the windswept prairie town of 300 people, the Opera House was the only building of its kind in the area. So vaudeville acts, dancers, comedians and even hypnotists barnstorming by train performed there. Schools, lacking auditoriums, held assemblies and commencements at the Opera House. When the entertainment dwindled in the 1930s, a harness shop, hardware store, doctor’s office and, lastly, in the 1960s, a tractor showroom occupied the space. Empty and untended, its windows soon broke and pigeons called it home. “We had to get rid of two truckloads of droppings,” says Lee McCubbin, president of the Grainfield Lions.

The former owner of the building deeded it over to the club years ago, realizing they were the only ones capable of restoring the building. Never mind that the club has only 10 members. “We either had a shortage of common sense or a crazy work ethic,” says McCubbin.

Restoration, begun in 1995, is nearing completion. Lions helped secure $180,000 in grants from the Kansas Heritage Trust Fund and another $80,000 grant to fix the heating. In the past year the Opera House hosted a high school prom, the Lions’ Christmas festivities and club meetings. “There were a lot of naysayers. People said we should burn it or tear it down,” says McCubbin. “The support from the community has turned around 180 degrees. It’s kind of heartwarming.”

The Lions may be guardian angels of their local cultural heritage but don’t ever expect them to take the stage and sing opera. “If we had to do that we’d be in real trouble,” says McCubbin.

Murfreesboro Lions Club, Tennessee
Outside Murfreesboro is the hallowed Stones River National Battlefield, where the Union and Confederate armies bludgeoned each other for three days starting on the last day of 1862. The Battle of Stones River (also known as the Battle of Murfreesboro) produced the highest percentage of casualties on both sides of all the major battles of the Civil War.

Murfreesboro today is a modern city—one of the fastest growing in the nation—of 93,000 but its distant past is present in other ways. One of the city’s drawing cards is Cannonsburg Village, a recreated pioneer village. People here are fond of log cabins. Until it moved to new digs, the Chamber of Commerce operated out of a log cabin. A local business specialized in log cabin kits. Years ago, Lion Dick Palmer welcomed Lions to his log cabin for card games and other tall tales.

So, naturally, in 1985 when Murfreesboro Lions planned a clubhouse on land adjacent to the pioneer village and across the street from the Chamber of Commerce building, they opted for a log cabin. “I think we kind of adapted to our area,” says Past International Director Billy Pearson, a member of the club for 41 years.

Doing a lot of the work themselves, club members built the 60-foot long, 30-foot wide facility for $51,000. After they moved in, a Lion found a used hunting lodge carpet to add to the pioneer ambience. Some ceramic tile has been put down but the carpet remains in use.
In many ways, the Murfreesboro clubhouse is like any other. The Lions rent it out for weddings and parties. Its convenience for Lions can’t be beat. Before it was built, “we met everywhere we could. We moved three times in one year,” says Pearson. “Before we had it we came to meetings in suits and ties. Now it’s more casual and relaxed.”

The club is quite a bit older than its clubhouse; it celebrates its 75th anniversary this summer. Among other service activities, the club screens some 6,000 children each year for vision problems.

A few years ago, imitating the Lions, the Jaycees in town also built a log cabin. But that chapter closed and its cabin sits forlornly. The Murfreesboro Lions Club still counts more than 70 members; there’s also the Murfreesboro Noon Lions Club. The Lions’ log cabin clubhouse projects stability and endurance—traits enjoyed by its Lions.

Lake Oswego Lions, Oregon
A prosperous suburb of Portland, Lake Oswego has a downtown with boutiques, outdoor art and hanging flower baskets. A walking tour highlights historical homes and distinctive architecture.

The first stop on the tour usually is Oswego Heritage House, where the Lions meet at noon weekly.

The Colonial Revival home was deigned by noted architect Charles Ertz for builder Paul Murphy in 1920 to house his burgeoning business. A doctor purchased it in 1941 for his home and office. A decade ago the Oswego Heritage Council bought the building and converted it into a museum, library and community center.

The 56-member Lake Oswego Lions Club is a typical club. For 50 years it’s held a pancake festival in a park on July 4th. It’s also known for its hamburger feeds. (“They’re really good,” says Bill Spencer, a Lion since 1970.) But they meet in splendid surroundings.

Situated in a commanding position on the top of a hill, Oswego Heritage House features a handsome pedimented portico, mullioned windows and paired front doors with pedimented frames.

The real beauty of the house—according to Lions—is that it makes the meetings more desirable for members. The club once met at a steak house at night. “That was a catastrophe. The club just about went out of business,” says Spencer, 81, a retired loan officer. “A lot of guys couldn’t afford the cost.”

Belmont Lions Club, Massachusetts
A cherished landmark in Belmont, near Boston, is the picturesque old train station and stone arch underpass, built with 365 tons of field stone a century ago. The Belmont Lions use the station for its meetings. The club bought the building for $100 in 1955 after ridership on the train line severely declined.

The ticket window remains (the club uses the ticket office as its bar area) as do the waiting benches that are attached to the wall. The train line is still in use (passengers wait outside 15 feet from the clubhouse) and the Lions occasionally hear train whistles. “It’s a great place to meet. It’s very atmospheric,” says Doug Ertelt, immediate past president.

Even better, the ample storage space beneath the building and the green space outside allows the club to store, display and sell thousands of wreaths and trees during the Christmas season. “We have great visibility here,” says Ertelt. “We wouldn’t be half as successful as a club without our building.”