Munith Lions Club marks 65 years of serving the community

by Tina Cole-Mullins

After 65 years of service, the Munith Lions Club remains a small but mighty group.

Chartered on Dec. 12, 1953, the Lions Club is keeping its roar and sponsors community activities including the recent Halloween Party and vision testing. It also supplies free eyeglasses, smoke alarms, and adopts a family at Christmas.

According to Marlene Huttenlocher, member since 2007, the Lions Clubs have changed with the times. 

“Years ago, the Lions was a club for men by institution only,” she said. “The president of the club used to host cocktail parties in his home, with everyone dressing up.” The women wore long dresses back then, she said, as was the style. 

Since the Lions have transformed from a “formal men’s group only, to a less formal, casual dress, allowing us ladies to join,” Huttenlocher said.

Thought the Lions opened their doors to women in 1987, another two decades passed before the local Munith Lions Club had its first women members.

“Over the years, club membership began to dwindle. Three of us wives joined to boost the men in 2007,” Huttenlocher said.

Her late husband Everell (Ev), a longtime member, held club offices of post district governor and post council chairman. He was honored with the Melvin Jones award, named for the founder of the Lions. In honor of Everell’s passing five years ago, the Ev Huttenlocher High School Scholarship was created.

“Being a Lion has brought world travels to (Lions) International conventions,” Marlene Huttenlocher recalled, “taking me to Montreal, Canada, and the faraway land of Tokyo, Japan.”

She also has received accolades, receiving the Melvin Jones award, named for Chicago businessman Melvin Jones who founded Lions Club International in 1917 with a belief that local business clubs should broaden their horizons for the betterment of their communities.

Munith was a vibrant town with general businesses in the ’70s and ’80s, Huttenlocker remembers. “Businessmen joined the Lions Club. Club members helped each other with building projects, including building the Munith Park with the help of Jim Worden,” she said, adding that the Lions continue to maintain the park.

In 1925, Helen Keller challenged the Lions Club to become “Knights of the Blind” and join her in the Crusade Against Darkness. From this grew the iconic white cane sales, still in place among charters across the country.

Currently, the Lions Club is the largest international club in the world.

Although the Munith Lions have no formal plans to celebrate their 65 years of service, President Glenn Buckmaster, who joined the Lions three years ago and represents the youngest of the current 13 members, hopes to breathe new life into the club. 

“My most honorable moment as a Lion has been becoming president of the Lions Club,” he said.

The long list of Munith Lions Club projects includes Monday night bingo concessions with the Stockbridge Lionesses; supplying a weather alert system with three sirens; Lions mint sales; collection of used eyeglasses, hearing aids and cellphones; providing new glasses for students and adults; Christmas decorations; flag displays; supplying a Reader Machine; Pay it Forward; adopting a family at Christmas and providing free smoke alarms.

“I would like to invite friends, neighbors and businesses to become a Friend of the Lions,” Buckmaster said. “This would not require you to join the Munith Lions, be required to attend meetings or pay membership dues (but we’d love it if you do).”

To be a Friend of the Lions, a person may join its Facebook group and help out on event days, he said,, such as the Munith Halloween Parade and White Cane or Candy Day fundraisers.

“We will be networking and working closely with other community groups found on Facebook Munith/Stockbridge Pay it Forward and Wake Up Stockbridge and Surrounding Communities,” Buckmaster said.

The Munith Lions Club meets at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday at Hankerd Inn. For more information, call Glenn at 517-474-0294.

Bob Hulstromn honors past Lion Everell Huttenlocher by wearing Ev’s personal Lions Jacket, gifted to him by Ev’s wife Marlene. Photo by Tina Cole-Mullins

Munith Lions Hard at Work preparing to decorate Munith for Christmas.Project is in need of Friends of the Lions volunteers. Photo by Munith Lions

Christmas of the past, an event in need of revitalizing. Photo by Munith Lions

Johncie Turner watche’s Munith Halloween Parade. Photo by Tina Cole-Mullins

Munith Lions Donated Reader. Photo by Munith Lions