Plaistow Lions Club finds a den of its own

By Meghan Carey
Staff writer

May 09, 2008 05:55 am

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PLAISTOW — For 59 years, the Lions Club has organized its charitable work in some odd places.

"We've met everywhere," member Thomas Ingham said. "In the garage, in the barn, in a tavern, even in a barroom."

But now, club members finally have a place to call their own. Actually, they call it The Lions Den.

Last month, the club moved out of the Hawaiian Isle restaurant and into the Vic Geary Center. Jack McSheehy and Bob Chooljian, members who are also on the center's board of directors, arranged for the club to use space in the building's basement. In exchange, they will maintain the town-owned Senior Citizen Center, Ingham said.

They will share the basement with Cornerstone Church, which holds services in its own section on Sundays.

McSheehy and his construction crew renovated a 25-foot by 25-foot room in the basement, where the Lions Club will meet twice a month to plan fundraisers and other activities, Ingham said. The club's board of directors also will meet there.

The Lions Den will just be used for meetings since most of the club's work is done in the community, Ingham said. Club members recently cleaned up along Route 125 from Kingston to the Haverhill, Mass., line.

The new room seats about 40 people, Ingham said. The club has 48 members, but a few usually do not show up for the meetings, he said.

"The room is pretty well crowded," Ingham said. "We couldn't take many more."

But just the same, they are happy to have their own space, he said.

The Lions Club spent its last meeting finishing plans for the spring flea market. The event, presented twice a year, will be on May 17 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of Kohl's on Route 125.

The club also is putting together its first golf tournament, Ingham said.