Zebulon Lions Club Celebrates 75th Anniversary
By Jane and Waddell Mitchell
Lionism has existed as an association since June 7, 1917. Lions International was founded by Melvin Jones in Chicago. Lion Jones wanted to see what could be done when he combined the talents of men to work to improve the communities they lived and worked in. The highest honor in Lionism is named the Melvin Jones Award; and the Zebulon Lions Club has 10 Melvin Jones Award winners.
The LION was chosen as the symbol for Lions International because of its courage, nobility, strength, stateliness and valor. The Lions emblem “represents a lion facing the past with pride and the future with confidence, looking in all directions to render service.”
The first Lions convention was held on October, 1917, in Dallas, Texas, with 23 clubs from 8 states receiving their charters. The first Lions Club in North Carolina was in Winston-Salem; and it was chartered in 1922. Nine more clubs chartered in North Carolina later that year.
The Zebulon Lions Club was chartered on December 9, 1949. The charter ceremonies were held in the gym at Wakelon School. At the time of the charter ceremony, it was the largest charter event ever held in North Carolina and one of the largest in the US. Over 500 people attended and heard Kerr Scott, former North Carolina governor, deliver the address.
The Zebulon Lions Club (ZLC) was the 200th club to receive a charter in North Carolina. It was sponsored by the Rocky Mount Lions Club. In 1948, several men from Rocky Mount visited Zebulon, looking to talk with a few leaders and outstanding citizens about starting a Lions Club in Zebulon. The first President was M. Walter Page and the Charter night activities chairman was Worth Hinton. There were 51 Charter Members.
Today, Lions International is the largest service club in the world with over 1.4 million members in 49,000 clubs in 198 countries around the world.
The newly formed Zebulon club members met in various locations around town – always looking toward the day when they would have their own building. They used the cafeteria at Wakelon School, a few church halls, and rooms throughout the town government.
In November 1956, Lion President M. L. Hagwood, Sr., met with Vic Bell, a local realtor. Mr. Bell agreed to sell the land on East Lee Street in Zebulon, the land the current building is sitting on, for $1,000. The club members unanimously voted to purchase the land. Mr. Strickland drew up the plans. Construction of the main part of the building started in 1957 and was completed in early 1958.
The building was dedicated in 1958 under the leadership of Hardin Hinton, President.
Luther Hodges, Governor of North Carolina, was the guest speaker. Charter Lion and Zebulon Mayor, Wilbur T. Debnam, presented the keys for the building to Lion President Hinton.
Six years later, having borrowed thousands of dollars, the club celebrated a “note burning” in December, 1964. At the time, there were 40 active members. In the sixties, the club added the annex to the back of the building which was greatly needed and enjoyed today.
The ZLC’s first Ladies Night was held on December 7, 1950, at the Wakelon Gym, with 50 active members and their wives present.
In 1957, Francis Tucker and Sally Hagwood (wives of charter members) presented an idea to Lion President Hardin Hinton. Following lots of research, these ladies proposed that the local Lions sponsor a Lions Auxiliary to work and support the local club. They had two options – Lioness Club or Lions Auxiliary. The Auxiliary was chosen mainly because it had more autonomy and was not watched over or ruled/governed by Lions Internation with many monetary requirements.
The members of the ZLC voted unanimously to endorse the Auxiliary. And they say to this day that it was one of their best decisions ever. The Ladies held their first meeting on August 11, 1957, and elected Francis Tucker President. Dues were $1; then $2 and now today $20. Over the 68 year history of the Auxiliary, the club has been served by 33 different presidents.
On December 5, 1974, the ZLC club celebrated its 25th Anniversary, under the leadership of Robert Edd Horton, President, with 46 members present, seven of whom were Charter Members. On December 9, 1999, the Club was once again in its building celebrating its 50th Anniversary as a club. Lion Dallas Falk was President during that celebration. The Zebulon Lions Club recently celebrated its 75th Anniversary of service to the area with a dinner at the club building.
The Zebulon Lions Club has a 75-year history rich in awards and giving back to the community and to the nation and world.
Many projects have been completed over the years. Some of these are projects that the district, state and national leaders encourage; and many of them were local projects.
And while the Ladies Auxiliary helped with each project along the way, the women were making their own money and sponsoring their own events. Their first project was selling bottles of vanilla flavoring for a punch bowl, ladle and stand which they continue to use to this day. The annual All Occasions calendars were sponsored by the Auxiliary for many years.
Members of the Auxiliary like Eva Liles, Ruby Hudson, Jean Liles, Jean Wall and numerous others, wrote and directed many of the local talent and variety shows presented over the years.
The following two projects seemed to have had the greatest impact on the Zebulon community:
- In 1956, Wakelon High School changed its colors from red and white to black and gold and needed new uniforms for the high school band.
The Zebulon Lions stepped up and committed $4,000 to purchase all new uniforms that were needed at the time. A Zebulon Lions Club emblem was sewn on the sleeve of every uniform. The club’s all-night sings, a raffle for a Chevrolet and several other projects funded this huge commitment. And when they needed more uniforms, the ZLC and the Rotary Club provided those funds.
- The Five County Fair — a tradition here for the five surrounding counties for many years -was sponsored by the Lions. Lions manned the ticket sales booth, the food stand, walked the fences, parked cars and sold ads for the Fair Program. The members of the Lioness club handled the entries to be judged – entries from flowers, to jams and jellies, clothing, produce, candies, etc. People still talk about the fair with great memories, some they can share and some they can’t! (Like the hoochie goochie shows.)
Three members of the ZLC served as Zebulon Mayor – Frank Wall, Worth Hinton, Wilbur Debnam. Les Merritt served as NC Treasurer. Several members of both clubs have served as Town Commissioners or County Commissioner.
The motto of Lions International and our club is WE SERVE.
Jane Mitchell is a member of the Zebulon Lions Club Auxiliary, and her husband Waddell Mitchell has been a Zebulon Lions Club Member for 39 years. This talk was presented to the Zebulon Lions Club at its 75th anniversary celebration in 2024 and to the Little River Historical Society in 2025. Both are long-time members of Preservation Zebulon.