The Knowlton Lions Club
For the past 68 years the hard work of Knowlton Lions Club volunteers has improved the quality of life in the towns of Lac Brome, West Bolton and Brome Village. Part of Lions International, the world’s largest service club, we were chartered in 1956 and immediately started up the first Santa Claus Christmas Parade in 1957. To this day the colourful community-created floats and a Lion Santa still joyfully brings young and old together onto the snowy, sleety or rainy streets of Knowlton every December.
The Lions Club annual calendar of fun fundraising events includes the much-anticipated springtime Lions Club Garage Sale which is celebrating its 20th anniversary on May 25th this year! It’s a lively, quirky affair filled with treasures held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arena, Brome Fairground, 345 Stagecoach, Brome Village. Drop off donations Friday, May 17, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. or Saturday May 18, Sunday May 19, Thursday May 23 and Friday May 24 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
To welcome summer the club supports La Fête Nationale and on Canada Day the Club gives out ice cream and cake. And on a Sunday every November we orchestratem the annual fundraising Remembrance Day Brunch which has been inviting the community to honour veterans since 1998 with an all-you-can eat and pay-what-you-can breakfast at Knowlton Academy served by volunteer Girl Guides while the local Harmony Band performs tunes from the war years.
Along with the Christmas Parade Lions Club volunteers prepare
Christmas food baskets vouchers for those who need a helping hand and deliver surprise poinsettia flowers to housebound locals.
However, the best known Lion contribution was the creation of Knowlton’s Lions Park. The club purchased the land in the early ‘60s and has added tennis courts, fields for baseball and soccer, and a playground. The park has since been turned over to the town for maintenance and development. Other major projects
include helping refurbish Douglass Beach, the Coldbrook walking path and building the original bridge between our two elementary schools. Many donations over the years to the BMP hospital include a 2021 gift of $20,000 for equipment to assist sight-related examinations as vision-related projects are one of the club’s mandates.
The club has also helped with educational needs at Knowlton Academy, École Saint-édouard, as well as both secondary schools at Masseyvanier and the Adult Education sector. Another important ongoing undertaking is providing smoke detectors for children’s bedrooms. Donations include many community groups including the library, museum, first responders and sporting activities such as the Salamander Summer Camp, soccer and ski programs and, more recently, the youth rowing club.
These days our Knowlton Lions Club is made up of 20 keen volunteers under the leadership of Gib Rotherham, a generous and caring local who could well be described as Knowlton’s Volunteer King as he finishes up his fourth term as Knowlton Lions Club President over the past 50 years! He’s also a director of the Wellness Group, the Food Bank and the Lac Brome Museum. Since his first term as president at the age of 27 in 1974 he has seen many changes including the club opening membership to women in 1990. “Women saved our club,” says Rotherham bluntly. “We were down to 11 members and women filled the ranks and kept us going.”
If you are interested in learning more about the club or perhaps becoming a member, contact the Club at: Lions.knowlton@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page at Club Lions de Knowlton Lions Club. Want to donate? Go to www.canadahelps.org - search key words “Lions Club Knowlton” or mail cheques to Box 3766, Knowlton QC J0E 1V0