Serving Our Community Since 1948
Lions Creed
To Organize, To Promote, To Coordinate,
To Create, To Encourage, To Aid, To Seek
Success, To Remember, To Provide, To Take
An Active Interest, To Unite, Always To Bear
In Mind, To Show Our Faith In The
Worthiness, To Hold Friendship As An End
Rather Than As A Means.
4th of July Celebration!
Each year we put on the
grandest four day
festival and this year is
no different. Complete
with Parade, Vender
Booths, Live Music,
Rides, Magic Show, Car & Tractor Show,
Pancake Breakfast, Raffle Tickets, Arts & Crafts
& Other Fun Events and of course The Largest
FIREWORKS Show in Northern Illinois! To get
more information on this event you can click the
links below. If you would like to volunteer,
please contact us.
Copyright © 2020 Kirkland Lions Club. All Rights Reserved.
Home
Kirkland Lions Club History
From the 25th Charter Anniversary held September 28,
1973 at the VFW in Belvidere:
Kirkland Lions Club – 1948-1973 (78 Members)
The Kirkland Lions Club owes its formation to an idea of
Corwin Lamont, a deceased younger brother of Lion
Wilbur Lamont, in the spring of 1948. Lamont brothers
operated a grocery store and Corwin felt that if he could
raise $300.00 for fireworks that Kirkland could have a
July 4th celebration of its own. Corwin raised the money
and sponsored a successful ......
Join Us, Make A Difference!
The “Ask 1” campaign is
a challenger for Lions
Club International to
challenger every Lion to
“Ask 1” person to be
come a lion.
Kirkland Lions have been serving the Kirkland,
IL area for over 72 years, making the
community stronger and enriching the lives of
its citizens directly and indirectly though
thousands of hours of service every year from
dedicated Lions wanting to make a difference.
Below are several important links to
check out to know more about Lions
Clubs and about the causes that our
club cares about and supports.
.
Each year we raise and donate
thousands of dollars back into our
community. Click the more information
button below to see a list of places we
have donated to in the past, some of
which we donate to annually.
Our Donations
Important Lion Links
Serving Our Community Since 1948
Donations & Links
Copyright © 2020 Kirkland Lions Club. All Rights Reserved.
To learn more about
what Lions Clubs International
is doing to promote it’s 100th
Birthday, click the link.
Lions Club International
Lions of Illinois Foundation
Center for Sight & Hearing
Camp Lions
LIF Low Vision Screening
Scholarship Award
Kirkland Boy Scouts
Kirkland Little League
Leader Dog
Hadley School for the Blind
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Lake Shabbona Fishing Derby
District 1D Golf Outing
Hearing Aids
Fairdale Tornado Relief
Hiawatha Sports Boosters
Hiawatha Education Foundation
Franklin Township Park
Kirkland Fire Department
Kirkland Fire Department Food Baskets
Kirkland Food Pantry
Birdies for Charity
Family Services Agency
Gift of Hope
Blind Skills
LIF Diabetes
Eyeglasses
Sponsor Lion Larry Myelle
and Lion Ben Watson with
DG Jim Kleopping
Kirkland Lions Club 1st
Vice President Cliff Beach
and representative Brett
Collins of the Kirkland
Youth Boys Baseball
Kirkland Lions Club
Running Bingo
Tammy Banks
receiving the Fred
Manni Community
Service Award
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
July 4th Celebration
Serving Our Community Since 1948
Event Photos
Copyright © 2020 Kirkland Lions Club. All Rights Reserved.
Camp Lions
Camp Lions
Camp Lions
Fishing Derby
Fishing Derby
Fishing Derby
July 4th Celebration
District Golf Outing
(2015)
District Golf Outing
(2015)
Selling Pumpkins at
The Latest Fund
Raiser
Kirkland Lions Club History
From the 25th Charter Anniversary held September 28, 1973 at the VFW in Belvidere:
Kirkland Lions Club – 1948-1973 (78 Members)
The Kirkland Lions Club owes its formation to an idea of Corwin Lamont, a deceased younger brother of Lion Wilbur Lamont, in the spring of
1948. Lamont brothers operated a grocery store and Corwin felt that if he could raise $300.00 for fireworks that Kirkland could have a July
4th celebration of its own. Corwin raised the money and sponsored a successful program for the day.
Later in recognizing his efforts, local service-minded citizens felt that we should continue the celebration each year, but that many more
workers were needed to ease the burden. As a result, a committee was appointed to recommend the formation of some type of a
community club. Their investigation in other towns brought back the view that a Lions Club would be best suited for our needs. One of
the committee men, Ray Chambers, with the help of an Elgin District Lion official, signed up 48 charter members. Charger members
still retaining membership are George Tindall, Ray Chambers, Wilbur Lamont, Ira Aves, John Kunkle, Don McKee, Frederick Meyer,
Wayne Weeks, John Olson, Ray Way, Ernest Ecklund, Robert Maxwell, and Clyde Bell.
Community-minded men joined our club over the years until we hit a high of 116 members in 1968. Deaths and various reasons have
new dropped our membership to 78, but with good leadership, we have carried on through twenty-five successful July 4th
celebrations. Faithful members with the help of their families and friends have made this possible.
Our Club has had two District Governors, Roy Kelsey, 1964-65 and Neilan Fruit 1967-68, also a Zone Chairman, Guy Sparrow,
Sr. 953-56 and two District 1-D Cabinet Secretary/Treasures, Neilan Fruit, 1964-65 and William Kersten, 1967-68.
We sponsored the Monroe Center Lions Club in 1955. Our club entered our float and the Kirkland High School Band in the 1960
International Convention Parade in Chicago. Two District 1-D Conventions were held in Kirkland, in April 1965 and April 1968. Our club
has one member, Frederick Meyer, who has had a perfect attendance at club meetings over our twenty-five year period.
~Some of our money raising projects other than July 4th annual celebrations were Auction Sales, Broom Sales, Fruit Cake Sales, Minstrel Shows, Box
Socials, Calf Raffle, Square Dances, Card Parties, Zip code Book Sales, and Pancake Suppers.
We acquired the former American Legion Building in 1965 and have since completely remodeled it on both inside and out. The lot for the new Medical
Building was donated along with $100.00 toward the building cost and $1,400.00 towards the parking lot construction.
Help with City improvement include new Street Signs, trash cans, Christmas Street decorations, Polio Vaccine Feedings and Glaucoma Unit
Detection. At Franklin Park, two new shelter houses have been built and equipped along with a tennis court, band stand, play ground
equipment and a fireplace.
Band uniforms were purchased for the High School along with new foyer furniture.
Rural improvements were new road signs and a new building at the Scout Camp.
Yearly aid for the Blind goes to Hadley School for the Blind, Leader Dog School, Camp Lions, Dialogue, Winnebago Blind Center,
Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness for Glaucoma Screening, Mary Bryant Home for the Blind. We have purchased new glasses
for all needy children over this twenty-five years as well as a Braille writer and a new wheelchair.
Our sponsorship during our existence include the Boy Scouts, Annual Halloween Party, the Bowling team, Scholarships to Kishwaukee College,
Student tuition to Summer Sessions, Athletic Banquets, Boys State Students, Girls State Students, Summer baseball programs, free shows, band
concert, and a yearly Easter Egg Hunt.
Other donations were to Care Inc. Illinois Care, DeKalb Therapy Center, DeKalb Family Service, Heart Fund, March of Dimes, Voice of Democracy, 4-H
Trophies, Kirkland Fire Department, Russell Forest Preserve, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Auxiliary, State and International Lion Blind Projects, Mississippi
and Pennsylvania Flood Relief, McCoskey scholarship fund, Community Churches and many others too numerous to mention.
Our Club still takes an active interest in the civic, commercial, social and moral welfare of the community and our country and strives to unite the
members in bonds of friendship, good fellowship and mutual understanding.
Serving Our Community Since 1948
Copyright © 2020 Kirkland Lions Club. All Rights Reserved.
History