Katy Dickinson

Grange Hall

I was recently in a Lions Club meeting at the Prunedale Grange Hall on California's central coast. These halls are buildings of The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization for American farmers, founded in 1867. The Grange is the oldest surviving agricultural organization in America, important politically after the Civil War.

Meeting in a Grange Hall felt a little like doing business in Boston's Faneuil Hall, a building still in use but suffused with history. On the wall was this Mission Statement:

The Granges of California provide opportunities to enhance your communities today for the generations of tomorrow by promoting growth through family, community, and grassroots legislative action.

The dents in the wooden floor were testimony to heavy use of the Prunedale Grange.

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 04:05PM Nov 20, 2009 by katysblog in Lions  |  Comments[0]

Willow Glen Lions Charter Night

The new San Jose - Willow Glen Lions Club held its Charter Night event last weekend. We sold 125 tickets and had a fun party. Sami Asfour lead the Charter Night event team. The Sweet Adelines women's harmony chorus sang at the start of our celebration. Our new community service club was sponsored by the Almaden Super Lions. Guiding Lions Karen Fillmore and Jim Issacson started and supported us. The Willow Glen Lions club has 37 members. The youngest members are 19 and the oldest is 86.

My husband, John Plocher, and I are both club officers. We are enjoying meeting new folks in the Willow Glen, California community where we have lived for ten years.

Who Are Lions?

"Lions meet the needs of local communities and the world. Our more than 1.3 million members in 205 countries and geographic areas are different in many ways, but we share a core belief – community is what we make it." From Lions Clubs International

Following up on this story:

• This blog entry was featured (with the cake picture) on the 27 October front page of the Willow Glen Extra. The full story: "It’s Official: Willow Glen Lions Club".
• Lions Clubs International District 4-C6 "All Points Bulletin" (Vol.1, Issue 2, November 2009) p.19 included photos from this blog entry.

Photos:

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 04:33PM Oct 26, 2009 by katysblog in Lions  |  Comments[0]