Cresco Lions Club disbands

Cresco - After being a strong local organization for 20 years, Cresco Community Lions Club decided to disband at its Dec. 3 meeting due to lack of membership.

The decision hit Don Wearda, who has been a Lions Club member since 1964, hard. He first became a member in New Hampton. The family then moved to Marshalltown, where he transferred the membership. There was no chapter when they moved to Cresco in 1984, so Wearda kept his membership at Marshalltown for several years. “It was a hard decision,” he said. “I was a Lion for a long time and didn’t like to see it disappear.” But one or a few people can’t always carry the entire works.

In 1998, Don began getting a few people together to start a local chapter. Along with his wife, Jan, still-active charter members include Wayne Carolan, Bill Walker, Dennis and Kay Herold, Jim Zajicek and Anthony Tremmel.

Although carrying on the duties of a Lions Club organization, members have been toying with disbanding for the past two years as members became older and less able to get projects accomplished. “We thought we could hold on, but we couldn’t,” Don stated.

Over the past 20 years, Lions Club has helped many organizations in the Cresco area and completed many annual and one-time projects.

Annually, the club would be in charge of KidSight, which checks children as young as six months to kindergarten. A special camera is used to take pictures of each child’s eyes. It is now a requirement for school.

The group also participated in the Cresco Holiday Parade every year except this one due to lack of volunteers.

The Lions helped local children get eye glasses, hearing aids, go to diabetes camp and scholarships. They have given reading books to Notre Dame and Crestwood K-3 students for a few years.

Three times a year, the Lions helped with a blood mobile. It is likely the RHSHC Hospital Auxiliary, which helps with the blood drive as well, will take over the Lions Club’s portion.

The major fund-raisers for the club have been the fall pie and soup sales, the February Belgian waffle feed and two pop can collection stations. The pie and soup sales were the one dearest to Don’s heart. “I have been lucky to be able to collect about 80 percent of the sales over the past few years. I enjoy talking with people. I didn’t get many ‘no’s.”

Don noted, “The Scouts will be taking over the cans. The frozen food sales and waffles will fall by the way-side.”

Jan’s favorite part of Lions was when she read to kids at school.

In the past, the club has supported the Fitness Center, VFW and HoCA. Now that it is disbanding, it will again give, by presenting gifts of money to many local organizations.

Sadly, in this joyous Christmas season, the community of Cresco will be saying goodbye to a wonderful advocate, when the club officially disbands on Dec. 28, 2018. Jan said the first and third Mondays of the month will be different from here on out since there will no longer be a Lions meeting to attend.