ETOWAH LIONS CLUB, ETOWAH PARK & MORE chartered February 17, 1954
Source: "Etowah Lions club members are shareholders in a business" by Debbie Hicks, Etowah Lions, 2007 article for NC State Lions Newspaper
" In 1954, a small group of men converged on the small, quiet hamlet of Etowah in Western North Carolina to charter a new Lions club.
Located in District 31-A between Brevard and Hendersonville, Etowah had a population of 300 in the mid-50's. Hendersonville Lion President Robert Starnes and Secretary Hillary Nabors met with prospective Lions for a couple of months talking about the good work done by Lions and the need for a club in their community.
On February 17, 1954, the Etowah Lions club was chartered. The Charter meeting was held at the Etowah school gymnasium and led by the new president Claude Laughter. District Governor Roy Taylor attended the meeting and Frank FitzSimons Sr. was guest speaker. Starnes and Nabors were the guiding lions.
They attended all meetings for the first six months and helped club members with projects to raise funds so that Etowah might help the visually impaired, blind and handicapped people living in the mountains.
Some of those fund raising projects were donkey ball games, turkey shoots, cake sales, raffles, basketball games with other clubs, gospel sings, barbecue suppers, hootenannies and more. When ideas ran out, new members came in with refreshed ideas.
In April 1954, a Boy Scout committee was appointed and the Etowah Troop was formed. Much of the money raised went back to the school, as they provided the setting and meals for club meetings. In February 1955, the club started supporting and sponsoring a Little League ball team. They built a ball field, backstop and bought uniforms and equipment for the players. Many of our Little League players grew up and became Lions. One player, Mickey Marvin, went on to become a professional football player.
In 1959, the club put a down payment on a tract of land [along Hwy 64]. Their meeting places were now scattered and by the grace of several members, they held meetings in homes and at local businesses until 1960 when they moved into a new building.
The Etowah Brick Company donated the bricks and there was a lot of sweat equity. Lions cut the timber to build the building, raised funds by the brick, got funding from the United fund and thought up other ways to get the money to pay for the work. Members donated what they could and horse-traded for more. In January 1960, the club moved into the building [now CSDB, Inc]. This was not only an investment in the Lions club. It was an investment in both materials and involvement of the community. In June of that year, the first official Lions meeting took place in the new building.
In 1962, planning started on the garbage pickup project for the community. The response from the community was positive. Volunteers from the membership went out with their personal vehicles to pick up garbage. Soon they were servicing 100 customers and decided it was time to buy a truck dedicated to the job.
During the next few years, the Lions successfully stopped the post office closure in town, established a volunteer fire department [1964], the Etowah Public Library [1982], and saw the development of the Etowah Water Department [1966] as the planning committee including Lions used the Lions den to host the meetings. . . . The opportunity came [in 1994] to buy a [19.5 acre] tract and the Etowah Lions Park was born. The membership decided to sell their building and use the funds to build the park and a new den adjacent to the park.
Cooperation with the county enabled the Lions to come under the umbrella of the county parks and recreation for insurance. In exchange, we bought the land and became the daily caretakers. All but one of acre of the land has been donated back to the community as a park. . . . In 2004, we reached our milestone age of 50 years. . . . In 2006, we were given a check for $50,000 for park improvements [a state grant]. With that, and funds from the parks and recreation department [Henderson County], we were able to finish two tennis courts, pave the parking lot, put in a shuffle board court and lay out a soccer field. We still have work to do. We rededicated the park in the fall of 2006 with a flag pole and rock with a bronze plaque. . . . The concession stand did well in 2006 and the Lions established a disc golf course, outfitted the top of the chain link fences around the ball field with a safety rail, put in a sidewalk to the gazebo to enable our handicapped attendants to use this area easier. . . . Our community is growing and the Etowah Lions club intends to grow with it. Who knows what project can be taken on in the future to better the lives of those around us. We'll be ready. "
George Davis Horse Farm, February 1989 - Site of the Etowah Lions Park. Real estate description from Southern Homes & Land:
"Wonderful horse farm in Etowah at the site of the former Davis Equestrian School. Two barns, 24 stalls + large open barn"