Past Presidents of La Mesa Lions Club Gather to Reminisce at Meeting

On Nov. 13th members of the La Mesa Lions Club welcomed back 24 past presidents to its club meeting.  Two widows of former presidents also were in attendance, Barbara Blackmun and Barbara Todd.  

The club was founded in 1949 and the only remaining charter member was in attendance. Paul Engstrand, who is now in his nineties, reminisced about his early memories of the club's beginnings.  Engstrand was president in 1955-56. 

Joining Engstrand were some early club presidents, such as Gilbert Harelson (63-64) who later became a prominent Superior Court Judge in San Diego.  Other early presidents who spoke were Dr. Ernest Shaw (64-65), George Jones (72-73) and Chuck Bras (75-76).

All presidents discussed how much the club meant to them and told of the many service projects and fund aisers they had. Past president David Shaw served as the master of ceremonies and introduced the presidents, and also read letters from those leaders who could not attend in person. 

It was an emotional 90 minutes and there were not many dry eyes in the audience.  

The club meets every Tuesday at noon at the La Mesa Community Center.  Guests are always welcome and for info please call 619-462-2742.