HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-08-29, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2013.Lions camp named after Blyth’s Charlie Shaw
By Charlie Shaw
In 1974 I was asked to sit on Lion
District Governor Jim Pemberton’s
Cabinet as Youth Exchange
Chairperson. As there had never
been youth exchange in District A9
or in Multiple District ‘A’ at that
time, we had to start from scratch.
We got District Governor Jim’s
address book of youth committees in
Canada and started to write letters
from coast to coast. We received no
replies. During this time we
contacted and visited Lions Clubs
trying to drum up some interest both
in exchange and hosting. We were
met with good reception and a lot of
interest.
In District Governor Jim’s mail
came a request from District 2T2 in
Texas from Lion Jim Johnston. Lion
Jim and I got together by letter and
telephone. In a few weeks we were
set to receive 15 Texans from
Lubbock and south. We also had 15
youths ready to go to Texas. We flew
our youth from Toronto to Lubbock
for five-week stays with Lions
members and families. Lion Jim sent
word that his youth would fly to
Sault Ste. Marie. He did not
understand the size of Ontario. We
got in touch with him and he flew his
youth to Detroit and bused them to
Blyth.
On the morning of their departure
he phoned to say he had one more
boy who had just heard about the
exchange program the night before.
We said send him along. The Texan
youth arrived in Blyth at our door
mid-afternoon, very hungry. My
wife, Pat, some Lions members and
our neighbours raided their
refrigerators and fed them. Soon
after their arrival it started to rain.
They all came into the house except
the boy who had been last to apply.
He said, “Man, I have been irrigating
cotton all summer with no rain.” He
stayed out in the shower. The same
evening the Blyth Lions had a steak
barbecue at the Lions Park. The host
families came for supper and took
their exchange student home at the
end of the evening.
After a five-week stay with the
host families, the youth returned to
Blyth. At this time, the Blyth Lions
invited our local teenagers for a
campfire and wiener roast complete
with a sing-song. At the close of the
evening the Blyth members took the
youth to their homes for the night.
The next morning the bus was
supposed to pick up the youth to take
them to the airport for their return
flight home. The bus never arrived.
As plane time was getting close
some of the Lions members took the
youth in cars with their luggage in
pickup trucks and rushed to the
Detroit Airport. They arrived at
home safe and on time. As for the
youth that we sent to Texas fromOntario, some came home on timebut two or three liked it so well they
stayed for a couple of extra
weeks.
By the second year there was even
more interest. We had an exchange
of about 50 both ways. It was
decided that we would try a youth
camp for a week. A committee was
set up and Wild Wood Park in St.
Marys was chosen as the sight.
Someone had some army tents
which we were allowed to use.
These were large tents with no
bottoms in them. It rained and was
cold most of the week so we started
having bus trips to different
locations. Various Lions Clubs came
in and cooked their meals. They also
visited area farms for barbecues. The
Blyth Lions cooked the Saturday
evening meal which consisted of
pork chops. This surprised some of
the youth as they thought Canadians
only ate hamburgers. The St. Marys
Lions hosted a teen dance in a barn;
a real barn dance. Blyth and
Lucknow Lions transported the
youth and chaperoned the dance and
the Lucknow Lions cooked breakfast
the next morning. It was at this time
that the flag ceremony started. Each
youth was asked to bring a flag with
them.
Our youth went to the U.S. and
Europe during this second year and
we hosted youth from the U.S.,
Europe, Japan and Africa.
Before the next camp year, the
District A9 Lioness Clubs purchased
new tents and cots for the camp.
Each had a plywood box for storage.
After the third year it was time for
my wife, Pat, and I to step down.
During the years a lot of different
Lions Clubs have hosted the arrival
of visiting youth and arranged forhost families to pick them up. TheCommittee has changed over the
years with different Lions looking
after the outgoing program, the
incoming program and the camping
program.
When the program started District
A9 stretched from Lions Head to
Woodstock to Grand Bend. A few
years following the creation of
District A15, the program was
divided into District A9 and District
A15. The District A9 camp moved
to Pike Lake in about 1987 for two
years before being held in Scone. It
later moved to Past District
Governor Grant Chisholm’s cottage
along Lake Huron for several years.
The camp is presently being held at
the Bluewater Outdoor Educational
Centre near Oliphant.
The camp continues to operate
much the same as in the past with
support from the Lions and Lioness
Clubs. Along with this support it
takes several different groups of
people to have the exchange
program that we have today. The
host families are not always Lions
members and we could not get along
without them. We cannot forget the
camp counsellors and all of the
youth chairpersons past and present
who have done a super job.
I was very pleased and honoured
to have the youth camp named, “The
Lion Charlie Shaw International
Youth Camp.”
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2. Off-Broadway theater award
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4. Court game
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7. Mandela's party
8. Lights again
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The Citizen Crossword
54 King St.
Clinton 519-482-3951
Brie Bakers
Quite a namesake
Blyth Lions Club member Charlie Shaw recently had the honour of having the district’s
international youth camp named after him. He was presented with this flag as part of the great
honour. (Vicky Bremner photo)