Youth Work

Certainly one of our most visible and a major projects was the establishment of the Lions Junior Band and Majorette Corps in the 1960’s with about 50 musicians-to-be and 30 majorettes, all supplied with instruments, uniformed, trained and transported by the Lions Club. This project was initiated and promoted by former past president Hal Fenton and continued for about 10 years. Lion John MacLeod looked after the band for several years taking them to Windsor, Syracuse and many small towns in between. Mothers sewed uniforms, others helped train the musicians Dex Keyes worked hour upon hour to assure the band’s success. The club raised between $3,000 and $4 000 every year and the Lions Junior Band and Majorettes were well known on both sides of the border - a source of pride not only to Lions, but to the community as a whole. The idea that a music program might be offered in the high school in 1971 brought about the donation of all the instruments to the school. The Lions Minstrel Shows which became very popular in the area, were created at that time and held annually to help raise money for the band.

The demise of the Junior Band was a source of sorrow for many Lions and none more so than to Past President John MacLeod who felt the town should have some sort of major activity for young girls. The boys had hockey and minor ball, but the girls had nothing. So out of the demise of the junior band came the creation of a figure skating club which proved very successful. Now there was more training, more costumes to be sewn, more money and many more hours at the rink, but the Gananoque Figure Skating Club came into being in the mid-seventies and rapidly outgrew the limitations of the Lions Club to sponsor it.

The Lions Club turned the sponsorship over to an elected committee of parents so the Skating Club could provide advanced training and qualification as outlined by the Canadian Figure Skating Association.

At one time it was impossible for children to swim during the winter in Gananoque. Past President Doug Aitken recognized this and organized weekly fall, winter and spring Saturday night bus trips, chaperoned by Lions, to an indoor pool in nearby Kingston.

Participating in bike-a-thons and skating carnivals were other Club activities.