BLUE HILLS HERITAGE FOUNDATION

– 2018 Organization Inductee –

Paradise-Waldo Lions Club

 

 

For 64 years the Waldo Lions Club has been the civic and social conscious of a community and region. The organization started both the Natoma-Paradise-Waldo Fire Department and the Waldo Senior Center.  They sponsored a Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack, collected old eyeglasses for the Sight Foundation, provided Christmas treats for children, handled the Lions Activity Calendar, sponsored area high school musicians to the Lions State and International Band, and sponsored a high school junior boy to Boys State.  

 

ORGANIZATION OF LIONS CLUB

“At a meeting held Saturday evening, some plans were formulated toward a Lions Club in Waldo Dr. Ford of Lucas, who is a district officer and an officer from Greeley, Colorado were present to assist in the preliminaries before organization. Ray Hubbard was elected president, Charles McAlexander, secretary-treasurer. It will be necessary to have 15 members or more before an organization can be formed.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, January 21, 1954.

 

WALDO LIONS CLUB MEETS

“The Waldo Lions Club met at the high school building Thursday evening, February 11, with the president, J. R. Hubbard, presiding. The charter was closed with 21 members.  Committees were appointed and plans were made for a charter night, which will be March 11 when a banquet will be served to the Lions and their ladies. The Waldo club is sponsored by the Luray Club.  Lions Oswald and Schneider from the Luray club attended this meeting.  Refreshments of doughnuts and coffee were served and a social evening was spent.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, February 18, 1954.

 

Waldo Lions Win Contest Of Clubs

“The Waldo Lions club won first place in a contest which started September 1, 1956 and ended April 30, 1957 with 37 Lions clubs taking part in the contest. The contest was based on points received for activities, attendance and lodge visitations. Cash prizes were awarded to the three high point clubs which were: Waldo, first: Palco, second and Stockton, third.  The prizes will be presented at the state convention in Manhattan on June 3.  Delegates from the Waldo club will attend and receive their prize which is $25.00. Waldo and Palco were tied with 100% attendance during the contest and will draw for the attendance prize at the convention. This prize will be an International Flag.  The annual state convention was held at Dodge City last year and the Waldo Lions sponsored two band students at the band camp preceding the convention at a cost of $60.00. They were Judy Bear and Marilyn Zweifel. This year they will send Karen Sue Keller and Marlene Day to the band camp at Manhattan at a cost of $70.00.  The next meeting of the Waldo Lions will be at the school house this evening, May 23 and all members are asked to be present to discuss sponsoring the Cookie team for this year.  New officers of the club have been elected and will be installed on June 27. They are: president, Kenneth Day; vice president, James Palmer; secretary, Amos Caprez; lion tamer, Albert Schuler; and tail twister, Everett Keller.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, May 23, 1957.

 

 

LIONS CLUB MEETING

“The Waldo Lions club held their regular meeting Monday evening, June 9 with installation of new officers. Zone chairman Lavern Oswald of Luray was the installing officer and installed the following Lions: William Austin, president; Verlin Rogers, first vice president; Merle Caruthers. second vice president; Raymond Mullender, third vice president; Joe Hubbard, tail twister and Roy Keller, secretary-treasurer.  They voted to meet once a month during the summer.  The next meeting will be July 28.  A committee to irrigate the football field was appointed. They are: J.R. Hubbard, Bert Westfall and C.P. Miller.  J. R. Hubbard and Dean May helped with the watering of the football field last Tuesday evening.  The club gave the high school a check for $35.00 to help on the expenses of the athletic banquet. They also donated $5.00 for grass seed for the football field. Chet Maranville donated the work of planting the field to grass.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, June 19, 1958.

 

Rock Road To Waldo Cemetery

The Waldo Lions club sponsored the rocking of the road to the Grand Center Cemetery. The following men furnished trucks and tractors to do the work: Levi Taylor, Wendell Taylor. Lloyd Wilson, Francis Wirth, Cliff Ringler, Max Gillett, Paget Bros., R.E. Keller, Kenneth Day, William Austin, T. J. Hutchinson and Fay Reitzel.  The following donated money to help pay expenses: V. M. Rogers, Amos Caprez, Ralph Gile, Howard Elder, Mrs. Grace Wood, James Bean, Harry Luder, C. P. Miller, Bert Westfall, James Luder, Lyle Trapp, R. L. Scott, J. B. Luder, J.R. Hubbard, Dale Beatty, George Brown, Rex Gillett, Max Gillett, Claude Wilson, Verne Wilson, Ivan Fallis, Jay Mead, Etta Mitchell, Dean May, Leonard Coles, Jessie Tripp, Letitia Luder, William B. Wilson, R. L. Lake, Anna Terry, Hazel Beatty, Lewis Hays, Anna Ewing, Muriel Pierce, P. J. Ramsey, Letha Finkenbinder. R.T. Wallace. B C. Clark, Louis Wood, Vernon Bradshaw, E H. Piland, Roy McClain, Harold Ewing, Theo Lamke, Frank Bear, L. J. Miller, Gertrude Kastrup, J H Piland, Clifford Post, Iva Wilson, Joe Bear, Belle Burns, Pearl Tabler, Flora Mead, R.W. Jake, Verne Elder, W.G. Wilson, O.H. Wilson, Ray Deardorff, Laurin Ewing, Denzell Storr, W.J. Palmer and Walter Paschal.  The Lions want to thank Bill Austin for donating rock and Ralph Gile for collecting $228.00, of which $128.00 went to pay for the grading and rolling of rock. All the truckers donated their first day of work and then were paid $5.00 per day for each day afterwards. Thanks to everyone.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, January 26, 1961. 

 

Waldo Lions Club Has Eventful Month

“The month of October, 1967, has been a memorable period in the history of the Waldo Lions Club.  The regular meeting of the club on October 9 was observed with a soup supper served to the members, their wives and several invited guests by Lion William Austin, assisted by Lions Keller and Hubbard at the old Mack-Welling building, now owned by Lion Keller.  After supper the group was entertained with slides taken by the Boy Scouts while on their Canadian trip last summer – Scout Jim Harrell operating the projector, Scout Bob Welling narrating and Lion George Welling coaching from the sidelines. Lion Ernest Strecker, Chairman of the Scout Finance Committee, and Lion Al Schuler, Scoutmaster, then presented the financial needs of the Boy Scouts for the coming and set the solicitors to work. On Friday morning, October 13, the Lions Club, together with the entire community, was saddened by the passing of Lion William Austin. Lion Austin was a charter member of the club and had maintained a perfect attendance record from the charter’s date in 1959 to the date of his death. During the term of his membership he had served in all of the offices of the club and at the time of his death was an elected member of the board of directors. He was always ready to accept membership on any committee or perform any other duty assigned him. He particularly enjoyed serving supper to the club – and acting as head chef at the money raising sausage and pancake suppers held by the club. He will be greatly and truly missed by the entire club.  The Northwest Kansas Conference on Sunday afternoon, October 22 at Norton, was attended by Lions Kenneth Day, Roy Keller, Jay Bricker, Ray Hubbard, Ernest Strecker and Henry Post. Lions Strecker and Post and their wives remained for the banquet and evening session All present reported a very interesting and worthwhile meeting.  At the regular meeting held October 23, District Governor Robert Winterove of Norton paid the Waldo Club his official visit. Governor Bob gave us a very inspiring talk on Lionism. A director's meeting was called for Monday evening, October 30 at which time committees were named for the coming year and plans for the next year’s activities were discussed. – Reporter.” Natoma-Luray Independent, November 2, 1967.

 

Retiring At Waldo

“WALDO – J. Ray Hubbard, postmaster at Waldo, July 1, 1943, will retire February 28.  Hubbard has been active in community affairs.  He helped organize the Waldo Lions club, was its president the first two years and still serves on the board of directors.  He was the first president of the P. T. A. and has been membership chairman for a number of years.  He served as county director of the American Red Cross in Russell County for two years, helped organize the first Boy Scout troop in Waldo and Scoutmaster for several years.  At present he is serving as president of the Official Board of the Waldo Methodist Church, and is Commander of the Veterans of World War I at Russell.” – Salina Journal, February 15, 1969.

 

Waldo Lions Club Plans Pancake Supper Saturday

WALDO – The Waldo Lions Club will serve a pancake supper Saturday, June 16, at 6 p.m. at the Waldo School Building.  Adults can have all they want to eat for $2.50.  Proceeds from the supper will be used as funds for sponsoring student activities.  Among the activities the Lions sponsor is sending delegates to the Lions Club Band every spring.  Rhonda Murphy and Sherri Eulert are the students going this year.  The club includes members from Paradise and Waldo.” – Natoma-Luray Independent, June 14, 1979.

 

The Lions Club not only hosts the community soup supper in January and the pancake supper in March, but also an ice cream social during the summer, and a annual Christmas party for the community.  Donations from these events helps them provide scholarships to area graduating high school seniors.

 

In recent years the Waldo chapter merged with Paradise to form the Paradise-Waldo Lions Club.  It serves as a striking example of how to keep a community alive and is therefore honored with a selection to the First Class of the Russell County Kansas Hall of Fame.

 

 

SOURCES:

Carolyn Schultz, Lucas, Kansas.

 

Natoma-Luray Independent, January 21, 1954; February 18, 1954; May 23, 1957; June 19, 1958; January 26, 1961; November 2, 1967; June 14, 1979.

 

Salina Journal, February 15, 1969.

​

Top Photograph: Creative haybale art in Waldo, Kansas.  All photos courtesy of Von Rothenberger.

​