Local Lions Club discontinuing after half-century

After 48 years of service to the community, Wrangell's chapter of the Lions Club will be wrapping up its operations this summer.

"It's a sad story," said Janet Strom, speaking for the club. "We don't have the membership and we don't have the volunteers that we used to."

Perhaps best known for its collection and refurbishment of glasses, the Lions Club is an organization based around the premise of community service, which takes on different forms as needed from one to the next. Over the last half century, Wrangell's chapter has supported a wide range of programs, such as the annual food baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas, local radio, the library's summer reading program, Evergreen Elementary's fourth grade river trips, Recreation Advisory Committee projects, Boy Scouts and scholarships.

In recent years, Strom explained membership in the Wrangell Lions Club has dwindled to just a handful of members, which has made it difficult to continue with projects.

"I think it's just kind of run its course," she said. "We just don't have the people to do it anymore."

The group's final scholarship was presented last month to graduating senior Curtis Wimberley, who was himself the community's last enrolled Boy Scout before his making Eagle. Because it would be their last such award year, the Lions Club also distributed $500 allotments to the five other students who had applied for the scholarship.

To help pay for these contributions, for the past two decades the Lions have raised money through its aluminum can collection. First Northland Barge and more recently Samson Tug & Barge had maintained an agreement with the club, allowing it to ship its containers of collected cans, tins and other scrap aluminum free of charge. This in turn enabled the Lions to make a profit on recycling the aluminum, with the proceeds then going toward its various activities.

However, once the current load is filled, Strom said that shipment will be the arrangement's last. This could effectively leave Wrangell residents without a means of recycling aluminum. Due to cost-related constraints, the city's waste disposal program does not currently collect such materials for processing.

Strom said she is currently in the process of seeing whether another group might be willing to take on the task in the Lions' stead, and whether Samson or another shipper might be able to continue an arrangement.

"It's a very sad thing for me and for Wrangell. I do hope someone else will step in and take it over," she said. "Wrangell you have done a great job of collecting aluminum. Our hope is that recycling efforts can continue and expand into other recyclable materials."

In the meantime, the club's familiar gray collection bins will remain open to residents' bags of cans, until either the final shipment is collected or another arrangement is made to continue the recycling program.