Holyoke Lions Club seeks to ‘roar’ in new members

At her first meeting in the Holyoke Colorado Lions Club, Karen Corrado volunteered to make stickers with the club logo for kids’ Halloween bags. By her second meeting Thursday evening, she had been sworn in as a fellow Lion. All members present, affirming the decision, said “Roar.”

“Just take ‘em off and put ‘em on,” she said later, instructing another member as they placed her stickers upon the bags at the end of a candy stuffing assembly line. 

In the past, Corrado had been involved in the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, the Special Olympics and teaching blind students. Having recently retired, she moved to Holyoke in March to get away from “the hustle-bustle” of Denver and sought new methods of community involvement. 

“I went on the Holyoke Facebook page and I put out a post asking how I could meet people,” she said. “Someone suggested this, so I came and checked it out and liked it.”

This year, club member Hank Hassler was awarded the title Lion of the Year, conferred upon active members, President Mark Meusborn said, to keep morale high. While Lion of the Year often is bestowed in-club with little outside fanfare, Hassler suggested they publish the event in the Enterprise to gain publicity and attract new members. According to Meusborn, Hassler told him, “It’s not about me getting a picture in the paper; it’s about the Lions getting a picture in the paper.”

A Holyoke Lion since 1980, Hassler wants to bring in “young blood” and help the club continue through future generations, though he added older people are needed as well. In the past few months, Meusborn said, he’s installed “four or five new members”; the Lions currently number 30 people. At its height before the ‘80s, according to Hassler, the club contained 50-60 members and nearly split into two due to its size. Though smaller now, it has remained in operation for eight decades.

“Lions means a lot to me,” he said. “We do a lot of good things for the community; I’d say, at the present time…we do more than any other club that I’m aware of around the local Holyoke area.”

In addition to their Halloween Costume Parade, held since 1952, the Holyoke Lions have organized Easter egg hunts, arranged American flags to mark special times and events, collected more than 7,000 pill bottles for Matthew 25 Ministries, purchased three picnic tables for their mini park in town, cleaned up a two-mile stretch of highway twice per year, and more.

Both Hassler and fellow club member Gene Hinck spoke fondly of a fishing pond they excavated at the east edge of Holyoke in 1991 – a project led by Hassler, who then was awarded Lion of the Year for the first of his two times. Hinck, a 28-year veteran of the club, also gained the award in 2011. Between them, they’ve recruited 19 Lions: Hassler with 10 and Hinck with nine.

While he now sticks to working ballpark concessions, avoiding more strenuous activity due to problems with his knees and shoulders, Hinck said the club still offers him “a good time, companionship and fellowship.”

Trying to express the “special feeling” he got from helping the community, Hassler avoided the word “pride,” settling on something more akin to “gratitude.”

“There’s no age limit, as long as you can contribute something,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep going.”

Those considering membership, Meusborn added, can “just ask.”

For more information on the club, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HolyokeCOLionsClub.