Chartered in 1934, the Bluffton Lions Club, still going strong, doesn't appear to be 80
1934
• John Dillinger breaks out of jail using a wooden pistol
• Shirley Temple appears in her first movie
• TWA begins commercial air service
• Donald Duck’s first cartoon appears
• Babe Ruth hits home run number 700
• “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” first heard on Eddie Cantor’s radio show
• Theologian Karl Barth surrenders to Nazis
• Bluffton Lions Club organizes as a local service club
Eighty years later, the Bluffton Lions Club celebrated its 80th annual charter night. The event, held Feb. 18, was an evening of remembering achievements of the club and focusing on its purpose. Past International Director Bruce Murray of Ontario, Canada, was the featured speaker.
"We are in the people business," Murray reminded those attending. "We are people helping people."
Adding that "We (Lions) share the dream, follow the dream and risk much, we would expect more than everyone thinks is possible."
Over its eight decades of service to the community and world, the Bluffton club has compiled an impressive list of achievents.
Many of those achievements are listed in the 80th annual charter night program. A copy of the program, which also includes the list of original charter members plus lots of club history, is an attachment at the bottom of this story.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2026
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- Night at the (Swiss Historical) Museum, October 24
- Woodcarving ornament workshop at Swiss Heritage Center
- Barefoot nature walks at the Nature Preserve
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