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After 75 years, Tosa Lions Club remains dedicated to service

Membership is down, but passion for serving the blind or deaf stays unchanged

By Michael Runyon

April 10, 2013

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Wauwatosa Lions Club

Wauwatosa Lions Club members collect eyeglasses that will be shipped off to people in need around the world in this photo from days gone by.

Wauwatosa Lions Club

Wauwatosa Lions Club members collect eyeglasses that will be shipped off to people in need around the world in this photo from days gone by.

The faces, names and numbers may have changed, but for the Wauwatosa Lions Club, the message stays the same.

The club celebrated its 75th anniversary Sunday. In its 75 years, it's gone from men-only to offering memberships for women, given money to numerous local groups and assisted those with vision problems in a plethora of ways. Although the nonprofit has seen a recent decline in membership, its message of "we serve" is still firmly rooted in members' minds.

A volunteer, invite-only club, the Lions focus primarily on raising money for the blind, deaf and diabetic, but support local organizations such as Boy Scouts as well. The club gives away all money raised to charity. Members also give their time to help those without sight.

"One of the jokes is that Lions serve more than pancakes," Jim Boyle, the most senior lion, said.

Knights of sight

In 1925 Helen Keller challenged the Lions to be her "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." The Wauwatosa Lions have accepted that challenge in many ways throughout the years.

An ongoing project involves driving donated eyes to the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin. The club transports 20 to 30 eyes per month.

"It's incredibly rewarding, particularly around the holidays," Boyle said. "It feels like I'm giving a Christmas present to somebody. A lot of the things we do are for people we never meet or never know."

They do, however, know a blind woman living Alaska. She loves Milwaukee Irish Fest and flies down every year to attend it. The Wauwatosa Lions help her find her hotel, escort her to the festival and keep her company throughout the day.

The Lions have a few discontinued programs aimed toward helping vision impaired people as well. They used to teach skiing lessons via a group called BOLD, standing for Blind Outdoor Leisure Development. They still work with the group, but can't give lessons anymore due to certification restrictions.

They financially support multiple service organizations that help the blind, including Badger Association for the Blind and Leader Dogs for the Blind.

A pride complete

Women weren't allowed to be Lions when Boyle was president in the early 1970s. Wauwatosa did have an auxiliary group called the Lioness Club, which was essentially the Lions Club for women.

The two clubs worked in conjunction for several years. Boyle noted that the Lionesses always made more money by selling lemonade at TosaFest than the Lions did selling barbecue ribs.

He and others wanted women to be able to join the club and passed a resolution pushing for their acceptance.

The resolution died at the state level. It wouldn't be until a few years later that the Lions allowed women members.

"It was something that struck me as un fair," Boyle said. "(They were) being treated as second-class citizens. The women tended to be younger and more energetic, and we had better direction after letting them in."

Value in membership

At its peak, the Tosa club boasted more 40 members. That number has been halved to 21. Boyle attributes the decline in membership to an increase in the busyness of people's lives.

"It tends to be more difficult to get people to join, but like anything, if you find something of interest for a new member, that seems to be one of the keys," he said. "Give them something interesting to do and people that they're comfortable with. There is a social value and fellowship for being a member of the organization."

Boyle added that they still run most of the programs they did when he started. Instead of organizing as a club now, each member volunteers their time separately or in smaller groups. He added that the club is more of a guiding light for its members than a social pillar.

Faye Mirr, clubhouse manager, said that the dedication of current members makes up for what they lack in numbers.

"I think if you're the type of person who wants to join the Lions it's because you're the type of person who wants do to it," she added. "Either you're a Lion or you're not, there is no in-between."