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By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF History is repeating itself inOakville but then thathappens over 75 years. When the new Oakville hospital opens replacing Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH), it will really be Oakvilles third hospital ask the Lions Club of Oakville. The local service club that is cele- brating its 75th anniversary this year, established and ran the Oakville Temporary Hospital as the campaign to build OTMH began. In the end, the club handed over the deed to the Temporary Hospital, a house on First Street, to the then newly-formed Oakville Hospital Association to the OTMH campaign. Its only one of many legacies the club, thats part of the international group, has given to the town Lions Valley Park, Lions community pools, the Lions Foundation Dog Guide School, the Oakville Fire Department and TOWARF (Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force). The motto of Lions is We serve and so we would assist individuals or agencies that request financial assis- tance for just about any social need, said Lion Bill Allison. Allison has held numerous promi- nent roles within his club, including president and district governor of the A711 district, which stretches from Torontos West Hill to Hamilton. Lions are Knights of the Blind, said Allison, so it goes without saying the local club chapter supports the Lions Foundation Dog Guide School, headquartered in Oakville. At first the local service club sup- ported the establishment of the school raising $25,000 toward the buildings downpayment. In the 25 years since, first the clubs female Lioness and then the Lions club itself, has run an annual VIP (Visually Impaired Car Rally) in support of the schools program. In it, sighted drivers maneuver a 100-km course with visual- ly impaired navigators. With its lion namesake on its crest in the regal colours of gold and purple, the Lions Club of Oakville, as all service clubs have, has seen its numbers dwindle as life gets busier. Today the club boasts just over 40 members. It meets at the Burloak Canoe Club (to which it pledged $130,000 in 1992 and from which Olympic medalist Adam van Koeverden hailed) on Water Street. The club hosts a dinner meeting twice a month and an executive com- mittee meeting monthly. According to club president Ron Gamble, Lions must be invited to join and it is imperative they can make the time commitment necessary. At first a mens club, Lions is open to women and has a Leo youth program. Besides the annual car rally, the local club recently hosted its British Car Show, holds local cruise nights and works Bingo games. Among the charities it supports are CharterAbility, which provides the sailing experience to the physically challenged and seniors, the Lighthouse Program for Bereaved Children and the Special Olympics. At the district and international level, it also supports programs to combat vision problems and diabetes. The Lions is the largest service organization in the world, said Gamble. Closer to home, its many achieve- ments include hosting Oakvilles first carnival in 1939 with proceeds going to set up hospital beds. It funded $85,000 toward the Lions first swimming pool on Felan Avenue in 1959. By 1965, it had established Lions Valley Park. According to the Town of Oakville records, Lions Valley Park was the first park in Oakville built by the Lions Club of Oakville in 1963. Pioneers in this venture, as they have been in many other community projects, Lions collected contributions and constructed a 20-hectare (50 acre) Nature Park, which they turned over to the Town. Thirty years later the Town assembled adjacent land for the 200-acre Sixteen Mile Creek Valley Park. As their Millennium project, Oakville's two Lions Clubs partnered with the Community Foundation of Oakville and the Town to link the two parks and the Heritage Trails. This park system will be extended further north as the Town grows. In 1965, the club raised $72,000 for the Wedgewood walk-to pool, and $26,000 for the walk-to pool in Falgarwood in 1973. The club also outfitted the Oakville Fire Department with life- saving defibrillators a first in Canada. And, it supported T.O.W.A.R.F., founded by former Oakville police chief and now retired town councillor Fred Oliver, a long-time club mem- ber. In 1975, the club presented its distinguished Citizen of the Year award to T.O.W.A.R.F. and it donated $11,475 to a new rescue boat in T.O.W.A.R.F.s early days. More recently, it has jumped in to offer assistance with project benefit- ing Haiti and Pakistan. For 75 years the local club has been specializing in fundraising for needy services and individuals. Its membership offers barbecuing skills and fundraising with 100 per cent of proceeds donated to the community. The Lions Club of Oakville will cel- ebrate turning 75 on Friday, Nov. 5. A gala celebration will be held from 6:30-10 p.m. at the Harbour Banquet and Conference Centre, 2340 Ontario St. Past club international director Bruce Murray will be guest speaker and many local dignitaries, including OTMH president/CEO John Oliver, will attend. Gamble noted a number of special recognitions and announcements, including new ventures in communi- ty partnerships to benefit local youths, and continued focus on the new Night of 1,000 Dinners fundraiser, are expected for the 75th milestone, but said, Of course, we committed major funds through the years for the hospi- tal, including its beginning. While the local service club may meet innocuously each month or its members are spotted behind the bar- becue at local events, its legacy and the pure might of its hand in the community is daunting. Based on an Oakville Museum exhibit by Mary Noad and Rosemary Seeton concerning early local health care, with material drawn from Hazel Chisholm Matthew's book, Oakville and the Sixteen, the Oakville Historical Society has records on the local Lions club w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , O ct ob er 2 9, 2 01 0 2 8 LivingOakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com Lions celebrate 75 years and lasting legacies LASTING LEGACIES: From 1945 until the then new Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital opened in 1950, the Oakville & District Temporary Hospital on First Street was Oakvilles first major hospital operated by the Lions Club of Oakville. Below, current club president Ron Gamble (left), the Lions Club International crest, and club past president and former District A711 district governor Bill Allison. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OAKVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY See Early page 30