HISTORY
Bill Morrell arrived in Danbury during the early part of
1927 to open a shoe store on Main Street. Architect Ned Watson supervised the
construction of a new front for Bill's Store. At the same time, Bill Hewlett, a
Bridgeport Lion, was involved in the construction of the new High School
building on White Street. Ned Watson also supervised this construction work.
The two Bills and Ned Watson often lunched together at
the Hotel Green* and Bill Hewlett always managed to maneuver the conversation to
service organizations, and he was particularly fond of talking about his
Bridgeport Lions Club.
Eventually Bill Morrell and Ned Watson realized what
Hewlett was up to. They liked what they heard and, using Hewlett's tactics, they
began to condition others to think about forming a Lions Club in Danbury.
Henry Wilson, Herm Beckett, Tom Settle, Henry Rocano and
the three Youngs, John, Charlie, and Bill, were among the first to become
interested.
On July 17, 1927, Ned Watson felt there was enough
interest to call a meeting. Ned Watson acted as President and Herm Beckett as
Secretary. 20 potential Lions attended this first meeting.
On September 8th, the first set of officers was
officially elected. Ned Watson was elected President; Vice Presidents: John
Young, Doc Whittaker and Doc Judd; Secretary: Herm Beckett. Treasurer: Bill
Morrell; Tail Twister: Irv Conle; and. Lion Tamer: Al Martin. On the Board of
Directors sat Tom Settle, John Fitzgerald, Nat Spiro, Ken Wilson, Jim Murphy and
J.C. McDonald.
On September 15, Ned Watson was notified that the Club
had qualified for a Lions International Charter. The date for the Charter
Ceremony was set for October 27 and the event was celebrated with a gala dinner
in the ballroom of the Hotel Green.
In addition to the members and their ladies, more than
200 guests, including Lions from New Haven, Stamford, Bridgeport, Greenwich,
Ansonia, Waterbury and Brewster were invited.
The New Haven Lions presented the new Club with a gong
which is very likely to be in use today.
Philip Jakob, District 23-A Governor, presented Ned
Watson with the Charter.
Among the speakers were Lions International Director,
Charles Bakewell and Mayor Sunderland.
Members of the Club presented the ladies with silver
compacts and the men received small bronze lions with the inscription:
"Lions Charter Night, Danbury, Conn. Oct. 27, 1927."
The menu, referred to as the Lions Feed, consisted of:
Lions Cocktail-Lair Grass- Lions Eyeballs- Hot Nile
Swimmers- Roast Jungle Fowl-Potatoes Lione-Buckshot- African Salad-Cub Cakes and
Jungle Juice.
The evening was a tremendous success.
October 1927-June 1929
President: Ned Watson
Secretary: Herm Beckett
Treasurer: Bill Morrell
Average Membership: 44
Ned Watson was re-elected President for the 1928-29 term.
The first project of the new Club was a boys camp at Squantz Pond, the present
site of Candlewood Knolls. The Camp operated during the month of August 1928.
The first two weeks, Herald-Tribune boys from New York City were entertained and
during the second two weeks, local boys enjoyed the Camp. The project was a real
success and put the young Club on its feet.
At Christmas time the members distributed toys among poor
children in Danbury.
A loving cup was donated to the Inter-Church Basketball
League.
The members spent considerable time on the problem of
choosing a long-term project. It was finally agreed that Danbury needed a
playground.
Negotiations with the City resulted in a $1.00 a year
lease arrangement for a large tract of land at the corner of Locust Avenue and
Osborne Street. This property eventually became known as the Lions Playground.
* CRIS Radio Studio is located in basement of
Ives Manor (no longer called Hotel Green), 198 Main Street.
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Lions Club of Danbury, Inc., District 23-A,
Danbury, Connecticut, United States.
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