Meetings

A few highlights of

Clearwater Lions Club's

90 year history

Melvin Jones, founder and long-time Secretary of Lions Clubs International,

signed our charter on July 28, 1931! 

 From that moment, the 20 men who signed the document as charter members began the long history of The Lions Club of Clearwater. Businessmen and professionals, they sought to improve the lives of the people in their community through service.

Clearwater Lions Club and Honeymoon Island

In the 1500’s Spanish explorers visited the island and met the island’s first inhabitants. These Native Americans were a local Safety Harbor tribe called Tocobagos. Artifacts such as skeletal remains, Sixteenth Century pottery and chain have been found on the island. These finds indicate the area was not only used by the Native American tribes but also by early Europeans as a “stop-over” point.

In 1938, Clinton M. Washburn purchased the 291-acres Hog Island for $25,000. He offered the property for sale in 1939 for $150,000, but no one was interested in buying the property. He joked with an editor from Life Magazine about the island being perfect for a honeymoon. The editor put the story on the newswires and requests poured in. This was how Honeymoon Island got its name.

Washburn, the Chamber of Commerce, and the local Lions Club decided that couples who wished to accept the offer of Clinton Washburn for free lodging on Hog Island during their two-week honeymoon must make their request through the Clearwater Lions Club. Couples had to provide references and pay for their travel to the paradise location. The first couple would receive free groceries, drinks, boat rides, bathing suits and a kerosene stove to heat their palm thatched shelter.

President A.B. Chipley of the Clearwater Lions Club named Joe Turner, chairman of the honeymoon committee. The group selected the first couple from letters of application. The pair writing the best letter about why they want to spend their honeymoon on a tropical isle was accepted. County Judge Jack F. White offered a free marriage license to the couple and offered to perform the ceremony himself.

The Clearwater Lions Club sponsored the first cottage. Most huts had a double bed, card table, two chairs, a pan, a kerosene lamp and two sets of utensils and dishes. Each cottage had a rowboat.

Selected as the winners, Mr. & Mrs. Burkett from Orlando, FL and arrived March 8, 1940. Fanfare from photographers and news reporters greeted them.

By the end of 1940, there were 50 10X12 wooden huts. Couples bought food from a store on the island and cooked on gas stoves. The cottages did not have electricity or plumbing, but there were lights in the recreation hall, grocery store and a bathhouse that had showers and toilets.

Clearwater YMCA

William H. Wolfe, one of our charter members, was one of five members of the Clearwater Noon Lions Club who formed the Clearwater YMCA. He served on the YMCA board from its inception on March 27, 1957, until the early 2000s. For his work, he received the Order of the Red Triangle in 1982 from the YMCA.

New Lions Clubs Sponsored

The Clearwater Lions Club was very active in the 1950s. We sponsored three new Lions Clubs in the area.

Safety Harbor Lions Club in 1950      

Largo Lions Club in 1957       

Clearwater Evening Lions Club in 1958

Safety Harbor and Largo Lions Clubs not only survived but thrived over the years and continue to serve their communities. Their members are active on all levels of LCI, from club chairs and officers to district and multiple district positions.

Clearwater Public Library expansion 

Our Clearwater Lions Club donated $25,000 towards the expansion and renovation of the Clearwater Public Library.

 

 

The Clearwater Lions Club continues its history of service today. We are a small club of 22 members, but through wise financial management we have consistently supported The Florida Lions Foundation for the Blind and sponsored 14 dogs since 2004 at Southeastern Guide Dogs, among many other organizations that serve the needs of our community. We serve!

 

 

 

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