Temple Founder Lions Club

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Temple Founder Lions Club. Now settle in, because this one starts the way a lot of good Texas stories start: with a railroad and a whole lot of empty prairie. Back in the 1880s, the city of Temple rose up out of a sparse blackland prairie and became a railroad boomtown.

Just like that. One generation, and what had been a nucleus of railroad workers and the stores and businesses built to serve them gave way to something bigger. A diverse population, a diverse economy, homes and businesses and schools and churches spreading out across the land.

Texas has a way of doing that to a place. You blink, and a town is standing where the wind used to blow through without asking permission. Now, as Temple grew, merchants were thinking about how to promote and improve their businesses and their city.

Commercial clubs, chambers of commerce, that kind of organized civic energy, those were the tools of the early twentieth century. And that brings us to the spring of 1917. A man named George M.

Cunningham came to town. He was from Houston, and he carried the title of Lions Club National Officer. He spent several days in Temple, and he was not wasting time.

He enlisted two Temple businessmen to help him launch a club for the city. Real estate agent Henry K. Orgain and insurance executive William J.

Bassett. Those two men helped him get it off the ground. On May 30, 1917, the organization held its first meeting in a downtown hotel.

A banker by the name of Pinckney Downs presided as temporary president. Now, what were these early Lions interested in? The club minutes tell us.

Community cleanliness and appearance. Patriotism. High ideals for membership.

That is not a bad foundation for anything. And they got to work. They sold liberty bonds during World War I.

They ran cleanup campaigns for beautification and public health. They raised funds for children and for the visually impaired. But the largest project the club ever undertook, and this is the one that really lands, was the creation and continued development of a hundred-acre park.

Temple Lions Park. One hundred acres. That is not a small gesture toward a community.

That is a statement. The Temple Founder Lions Club is still a strong group in Temple today, still giving back through funds raised from an annual follies variety show, through auctions, raffles, and golf tournaments. Throughout its existence, the Lions have worked alongside other civic organizations to accomplish large-scale projects.

With special attention to neighbors in need, they have endeavored, that is the word the marker uses and it is the right word, endeavored, to improve Temple's spirit of cooperation and its quality of life. A railroad boomtown on a blackland prairie, and out of it grew a club that is still showing up, still doing the work. That is a story worth telling on the road.

What the marker says

The city of Temple arose from a sparse blackland prairie into a railroad boomtown in the 1880s. Within a generation, a nucleus of railroad workers and stores and businesses built to serve them gave way to a diverse population and economy with many homes, businesses, schools and churches. To promote and improve their businesses and their cities, merchants established commercial clubs and chambers of commerce in the early twentieth century. In the spring of 1917, George M. Cunningham of Houston, a Lions Club National Officer, spent several days in temple. He enlisted the aid of two temple businessmen, real estate agent Henry K. Orgain and insurance executive William J. Bassett, to launch the city's club. The organization held its first meeting in a downtown hotel on May 30, 1917, with banker Pinckney Downs presiding as temporary president. Early club minutes document that members were interested in community cleanliness and appearance, patriotism and high ideals for membership. Projects included the sale of liberty bonds during World War I, cleanup campaigns for beautification and public health, and fundraising for children and the visually impaired. The largest project the club undertook was the creation and continued development of the 100-acre Temple Lions Park. The temple founder Lions Club remains a strong group in temple and continues to give back to the community with funds raised from the annual follies variety show, auctions, raffles and golf tournaments. Throughout its existence, the Lions have worked with other civic organizations to accomplish large-scale projects. With special attention to neighbors in need, the Lions Club has endeavored to improve temple's spirit of cooperation and its quality of life.