Alpena Lions Club turns 100

Community invited to celebrate milestone

ALPENA - The Alpena Lions Club, chartered in November 1926, is marking its 100th anniversary this weekend with a series of public events that highlight its long-standing commitment to community service and its partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, which is also celebrating a century in Alpena.

The local Lions Club was founded just 10 years after Lions Clubs International began in Chicago in 1917.

Its original focus was vision, a mission reinforced when Helen Keller addressed the international convention in 1925 and urged Lions to become "knights of the blind."

That emphasis continues today through free KidSight screenings for children, eyeglass collection, and support for Leader Dogs for the Blind.

"The original mission for all of the Lions was vision, and Helen Keller kind of kicked that all off," said Steve Murch, club secretary and a past district governor. "Our club was chartered in November of 1926. Back then, men were the only people, so there were 27 men who were part of the original club. And the very first thing that they did was they raised funds to build the first tennis court in Alpena."

David Zeller, a member for a half of a century and past district governor, noted that three families with ties to the charter members remain active, the Murch, Zeller, and Lamp families, with the Lamp family now in its fourth generation of membership.

"I've got 50 years myself in the club," Zeller said. "One of the first projects that the club had was the Old Newsboys sale, which started in 1929, and it's probably one of the longest continuous running projects in the whole state of Michigan."

The annual Old Newsboys event involves the sale of a satirical edition of The Alpena News, with proceeds supporting the Salvation Army. Other longstanding efforts include White Cane drives for vision-related causes, potato sales, and local projects ranging from a section of the bike path that members keep clean to bathrooms at the northeastern trailhead.

"The major projects of the Lions are vision, sight conservation, work with the blind, hearing, hunger, diabetes, and projects of the local community," Zeller said. "That's why we're starting the sponsorship of McRae Park."

The club adopted McRae Park several years ago and has worked with the city on improvements, including playground upgrades, dugout work, and the installation of tetherball courts. Members have also assisted with other community needs, such as helping a local pediatrician start a library in her practice.

"Lions in general, we have a lot of missions now, but the easiest way to describe it is it's humanitarian. It's helping people out," Murch said. "It's helping people in the community, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and hunger. We've adopted McRae Park. Our model is we serve, and we try to fulfill that model."

This weekend's events blend celebration with continued service. On Friday, the club will host a Family Fun Disco Night fundraiser from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. at the All Saints Center of Charity, also known as the Friendship Room, at 322 W. Chisholm St.

Admission is $5 and open to all ages, with music by disc jockey Van Durst, a concession stand, and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena.

"We're doing a fundraising dance on Friday, an '80s dance at the soup kitchen, the old Saint Bernard's facility," Zeller said.

Murch added that teaming up with the Boys & Girls Club just made sense because both organizations are marking 100 years in Alpena.

On Saturday, the club will hold a community celebration at McRae Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event includes games for children, an opportunity to try the new tetherball courts, and free Project KidSight vision screenings. The Boys and Girls Club's Youth Volunteer Corps will collect recyclables, including newspapers and deposit cans and bottles.

"On Saturday is the McRae Park event where there's going to be games and stuff for the kids and just trying to showcase McRae Park so that when we start making improvements, people can keep an eye on it," Zeller said.

Murch described the gathering as a way of saying thank you to the community.

The weekend concludes Saturday evening with a banquet at the APlex. The event begins at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets are $45 per person. Past International President Brian Sheehan, who led Lions Clubs International in 2022-23, will deliver the keynote address, and the Besser Male Chorus will perform.

"We have past international president Brian Sheehan as our keynote speaker, and that's quite an event to get a past international president to come," Zeller said.

Zeller also recalled the club's past involvement with Leader Dogs for the Blind, including a large local puppy-raising program led by Jerry Beebe, who was one of the larger breeders in Michigan before his death.

The club continues to seek new members who want to serve the community.

"Members are always looking for members, and we actively seek them in the public," Murch said. "We are always looking for somebody who wants to help do good in the community."

Meetings are typically held weekly on Tuesdays at noon. For more information on the anniversary events or membership, residents can contact Murch or visit the Friends of the Alpena Lions Club Facebook page. Checks for the banquet can be mailed to Alpena Lions Club, P.O. Box 324, Alpena, MI 49707.

The anniversary activities offer both a look back at a century of local service, from the first tennis courts to ongoing park improvements and vision work, plus, a chance for residents to join the club in celebrating and continuing that tradition.