Harrisburg celebrates 25 years of Lionism

One of the Lions Club wives stole the show before the keynote speaker addressed the club Saturday night at its 25th Anniversary Celebration dinner.

It was Lion Ezra Millspaugh's wife Marjorie who so charmed the audience and gave the keynote speaker a tough act to follow.

She related the tale of how Ezra locked her in the pig barn on their farm. The room was rather secure and she was out in the cold from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on a bitter cold night.

"When I finally got out and back in the house (after crawling through pig slop) I made sure that my cold feet found a place right next to Ezra," she said laughing.

Then it was Past International Director Lion Douglass Lozier's turn.

Lozier started with a list of news items from the founding year of the Harrisburg club.

"It was the end of the coal boom in Southern Illinois, Iran and Iraq found peace terms after the death of many thousands of combatants, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the first computer virus was named, the stealth bomber was unveiled,

gas was priced at $.91 per gallon," Lozier said.

"Since then your club has helped the Lions become a world leader in humanitarian service. Your programs have helped countless children see the blackboard and later succeed in life."

Lozier pushed new membership.

"But to continue, we must ask new people to join," Lozier concluded.