Since 1964, the Whitefield Lions Club has depended heavily on the proceeds from its food booth at the Windsor Fair to continue its community betterment projects, and the club hopes its 50th year will be a good one.
There will be many food offerings at the fair, which will take place from Aug. 24 to Sept. 1, but the Whitefield Lions Club boasts some of the best. They say they use good-quality, natural-casing hot dogs and get the beef for the burgers from Curtis Meats in Warren.
“It’s as good as you can get,” said Lion David Jackson.
French fries, drinks, chips, and other snacks will also be available for purchase, as well as sauerkraut and grilled onions.
“People craved the grilled onions,” said Lion Lynda Despard.
Club members encourage fairgoers to visit their three booths, located near the racetrack, not only for the quality of the food, but for service with a smile.
“And the money we raise goes right back into the community,” said Jackson.
The two larger booths will offer up the hot dogs, burgers, and fries, and a smaller annex will sell drinks and snacks. The club’s first booth was a 8-by-20-foot lunch wagon, which they borrowed from Damariscotta.
“With the counter and two women standing side by side, you couldn’t get by,” said Lion Dick Scofield, a 50-year member.
The club’s grocery list includes 600 pounds of beef, 300 pounds of hot dogs, 864 pounds of frozen french fries, and 300 pounds of onions. Up until a few years ago they cut their own potatoes to make French fries. Due to the amount of time required for the process, the club switched to frozen French fries.
According to Scofield, the decision to order white or yellow American cheese is left with the person making the order.
“David likes white better and he does the ordering,” Scofield said.
Members agree the Windsor Fair is the biggest fundraiser the club has held for the last several years. King Lion Jerry Maldovan said the weather dictates the success of the fundraiser. Last year, due to the heavy rain on Labor Day, the fair closed down.
“We lost a big day,” Maldovan said.
Extremely hot days will also keep the crowds down at the fair, however, the club has noticed indicators which predict a good day.
“If it’s a good day at the races, we have a good day at the booth,” Scofield said.
Although the club has over 100 members, finding enough volunteers to work the booths is difficult. The weeklong fundraiser requires about 20 people per day to cover the three shifts needed each day.
Maldovan said, including the prep work and cleaning, workers are needed at the booth from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
This year’s volunteer list is a long way from being done, and the Lion’s Club encourages anyone, not just club members, who would like to volunteer to contact them by email at information@whitefieldlions.com. Maldovan said the event is fun to work and volunteers get into the fair free.
“All volunteers help the community. But if you don’t have fun when you volunteer, you won’t last long,” said Maldovan.
For the past 50 years, the booth at the Windsor Fair has become a very important fundraiser and the club has become dependent on it to continue its community service projects for the residents of Whitefield, Chelsea, Jefferson, and Windsor.
The club has tried other fundraisers over the years, which haven’t been so successful. Scofield recalled a year the club bought a truckload of paper products, including toilet paper, napkins, and cups.
“You name it – anything paper, we had it,” Scofield said.
Club members filled bags of the paper products and went door to door to try to sell the product, which didn’t go well.
“We had about five years worth of paper products,” Scofield said.
Lion Paul Huber said, “Then someone came up with the bright idea of selling light bulbs.”
That fundraiser didn’t go well either, Maldovan said. “It took the bulbs three days to warm up,” he said.
The Lions Club is most noted for its assistance helping those with vision problems, including its programs to recycle eyeglasses and provide vision screenings.
According to a history of the Lions Club prepared by Whitefield Lion Cecile Lampton, the Lions involvement with the blind dates back to 1925 when Helen Keller, while attending a Lions Club convention, asked the club to become Knights of the Blind.
Since that time, the Lions have been offering services to the blind. Worldwide, Lions have funded over $200 million toward the cause.
The Whitefield Lions Club also tends to other needs in the communities, including providing firewood, food baskets, and other support to families experiencing difficulties. The club also supports local food banks and offers three $1,000 college scholarships.
The Whitefield Lions Club was formed in 1953 and it wasn’t until 1995 that women were invited to join the club.
“We lost a lot of members when that happened,” said Scofield, a 50-year member of the club.
Allowing the women to join bettered the club and gave it a boost, said Huber, a 49-year member.
“They do a lot of work; now I don’t have to do it,” he said.
Other major fundraisers include a golf tournament at Sheepscot Links and food sales at the Ham Radio Festival, also at the Windsor Fair Grounds.
The club also has a food booth at the Railroad Show at the National Guard Armory in Augusta. During the railroad show, model railroad and dollhouse collectors from all over New England come to display their collections.
Scofield, the longest serving member of the Whitefield Lions Club, said the motivation of his continued service is the work the club does for the community.
“It’s satisfying to do it and I get to see the good it does after,” Scofield said.
