BP Lions Club celebrates 80th anniversary
Photos: Courtesy of Dave Lovejoy
These Bethel Park Lions Club banners are adorned with patches awarded for various Lions activities, or by charities to acknowledge donations the club has made.
Courtesy of Dave Lovejoy
The Bethel Park Lions Club recently celebrated its 80th anniversary.
The origins of the Bethel Park Lions Club are intriguing to member Dave Lovejoy.
The club was organized Dec. 9, 1942, just two days after the one-year anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The thoughts of many were likely focused on World War II.
Still, an effort was made to start a Lions Club in Bethel Park.
“I’ve always wondered what kind of guys in 1942 with the war going on, they’re going to get involved in an activity that takes care of blind people,” Lovejoy said recently.
One of those services has been a Lions Club International standard since it was first suggested by Helen Keller in 1925, serving and advocating for the blind and visually impaired.
The Bethel Park Lions Club was organized Dec. 9, 1942, and its charter was presented Feb. 9, 1943, meaning the organization recently marked its 80th anniversary.
Its current membership sits at about 50 people with seven new members joining during the last two years.
Local efforts to serve and advocate for the blind include supporting Leader Dogs for the Blind, Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. The club estimates that over the years it has raised about $1 million (in 2023 dollars) for its charities.
The club also awards the George Meyer Scholarship to a Bethel Park High School senior each year. An annual golf outing raises money for the scholarship and in 2022, $2,500 was awarded.
“I feel like I’m doing some good for people,” Lovejoy said. “If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would be involved in an organization like this. We’re doing some good and I feel good about that.”
The Bethel Park Lions primary community project is Lions Park, consisting of about 12 acres of land on Irishtown Road which is rented out to the public. The park has a baseball field, picnic pavilion, volleyball nets, playground, full kitchen and two newly renovated restrooms. Playground equipment recently was moved there from the municipal Pine Tree Park.
Local Eagle Scouts have done projects at the park, such as creating a walking trail or restoring a fence.
Lovejoy, a member of the board of directors and past president, joined the club in about 1996, around the same time as his brother, Larry. His father, Malcolm, commonly known as “Mal,” was one of the earliest members of the club and served as District Governor in 1958.
“I’ve been around Lions and Lionism my entire life,” he said. “For my dad, it was a regular thing. On Tuesdays, he went to his Lions meeting.”
Jim Willison joined the Bethel Park Lions in 1977. He also is on the board of directors and is a past president, as is his wife, Judy.
“I was pleased with the idea the club was doing a lot of good and wanted to get involved,” Willison recalled. “When I joined, I think I was the youngest member of the club. I’ve had the opportunity to know these people and become friends with many of them. That’s been wonderful.”
Willison said there’s a simple reason the club has existed for eight decades.
“The club many years ago established that we were going to follow the Lions Club International guidelines to be community-oriented and support the goals of Lionism,” Willison said. “We’ve had just so many good men and women become involved and dedicate their time and ideas.”
The club meets at 6 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of each month with the exception of July and August. The meetings are at Bethel Presbyterian Church from October through April and at the park in May, June and September.
New members are welcome and can contact any member of the Lions Club or visit the club’s Facebook page or webpage to join.