Bitter cold with matching winds, January came at NH with force. And, according to some of our members who head south in the winter, the weather was unseasonably cold where they were also. Florida even experienced some snow!

And as is typical with the winter months, our activities and service projects are reduced… except for Tuesday night Bingo (although even Bingo needed to be snow cancelled once this month as well as the last Tuesday of January.

We did manage to have a dinner get-together at Bucky’s Restaurant in Moultonborough with 13 Lions and two spouses showing up for good food and good conversation.

Scholarship applications for current Seniors (Class of 2026) who reside in Moultonborough, Center Harbor, Sandwich, and Tuftonborough are available in their respective school Guidance Offices. And we are awaiting the needed materials from three members of the Class of 2025 who received scholarships.

Bob LaFlamme has taken over the position as Scout liaison from Dawn Law.

We have made a $1,000 donation to Camp Exsighting to sponsor one blind or visually impaired student for a week at Camp Pride.

Quick update to November. On November 21, six Lions (Kathy and Peter, Bob, Kay, Dawn, and Sally) helped the volunteers at Breaking Bread Food Pantry in Moultonborough package 135 very large boxes of food to be distributed to families in need. Not only were there so many items in the boxes, the recipients also received squash, onions, potatoes and possibly the largest carrots I have every seen, in addition to a turkey. It was such a rewarding experience!

We will be having all of our board/business meeting via zoom for the next few months, but some of us also got together for a small holiday celebration in early December.

The Holiday Fair was held at Moultonborough Academy this year for the first time (instead of at the elementary school — although the Boy Scouts were out at that location selling Christmas trees. We finished selling raffle tickets for the last time in 2025 and drew the winning ticket at 1 pm. The winner was local this year, a Moultonborough resident named Barbara Wakefield, pictured below receiving her prize check. That is a true happy smile.

And speaking of smiles and happiness, all of us at the Moultonborough Lions Club wish our past and future Club members a wonderful holiday season. And Glad tidings to all.

We certainly already have the snow….

Wishing everyone a healthy 2026

Sutherland Park: We finished the watering and weeding and the planting of mums mid October. We hope people visited and sat for a while enjoying the plantings and maybe having a coffee and treat.

Raffle Sales: It is time for us to start stuffing the envelopes and mailing raffle tickets to past participants. Mail should go out October 27. If you don’t get anything in the mail and would like to purchase tickets for the $5,000 prize, we will be selling in person for the last time before the drawing at the Moultonborough Central School Holiday Fair on Saturday, December 6 from 9am until 1:00 pm when the winning ticket will be drawn.

Meetings: October 20 — fall meal prepared by the Moultonborough Academy FCS and instructor, beginning at 5 pm. November 3 — board and business meeting, beginning at 5 pm. November 17 — at a local restaurant to be announced. Starting in December meetings will be on Zoom until April.

Bingo: Don’t forget Bingo on Tuesday nights at the Moultonborough Function Hall (formerly the Lions Club). Doors open at 5 pm, bingo begins at 6:30.

Vision Screening: From September 16 – October 28 we have screened 1,425 students at twelve elementary schools (and one high school (Gilford): Moultonborough Central School, Tuftonboro Central School, Inter-lakes Elementary School, Sandwich Elementary, K.A. Brett School in Tamworth, Gilford Elementary, Holderness Elementary and Gilmanton. Also Holderness, Rumney, Wentworth Elementary and Campton.

Camp Pride: We performed the fall cleaning at our adopted bunkhouse.

Roadside Cleanup: The roadsides of Route 25 in Center Harbor and Sandwich have had trash picked up … twenty bags along Route 25 and 6 in Sandwich.

Summer is one of our busiest service seasons and I apologize for not having more photos to share.

Sutherland Park Upkeep: Flowers were planted and different Lions take turns weeding and watering for a week at a time. And lately that has included A LOT OF WATERING.

Raffle Sales: We have already held two in person sales in front of EM Heath Supermarket for the $5,000 prize and plan to have three more there (August 30, September 20, and October 11). We will also be selling tickets on the morning of the drawing (December 6 at the Moultonborough Central School holiday fair). We also will send out a mailing with raffle tickets to people who are unable to purchase tickets locally

Fourth of July: Every year for more years than I have been a Lion, club members shop for and cook hot dogs, hamburgers, sides, chips, watermelon and drinks and then serves all the people who participate in the parade and who are watching it. This year we served around 250 people before and during the parade awards.

Awards: At the July dinner meeting we presented The Lion of the Year award to Bob LaFlamme. Bob joined the club in October and has participated in just about every service activity we have had since then. He also became a Board member.

The Melvin Jones award was presented to Dannie Watson, who has been a member of various Lions Clubs in the state for over 63 years. We are proud to have he and his wife, Betty, as Moultonborough Lions.

And the rain and gray skies and wind continue. Where is Spring?

We did manage to find a non-rainy day to spring-clean our adopted bunkhouse at Camp Pride. With five volunteers we managed a thorough sprucing up in a timely manner. The bunkhouse is ready for campers.

On the Saturday of this rather early Memorial Day weekend (we refer to this date as White Cane Day), two Moultonborough Lions, with the MUCH appreciated assistance of the local Scouts (and their fathers, too) collected over $530 for the blind.

Thanks again to the invaluable help of the Scouts!

We received almost 29 inches of snow in February and March is coming in rainy and foggy and windy. It will be nice to see spring — eventually — and the return of the “snow birds.”

We voted (again, at zoom meetings) to pay for two solar panels for the roof of the recreation center at Camp Pride. The hope is that once the roof is covered in these panels the Camp will be self-sustaining in terms of electricity.

Both Bingo and the Tuesday morning cribbage club are attempting to provide entertainment and companionship to the residents of the towns we cover — Moultonborough, Center Harbor, Sandwich, and Tuftonboro. We would certainly like to see more people at these events.

Bingo is every Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30 with ticket sales starting at 5. Cribbage Club is the first and third Tuesdays of the month from 10 -12. You can stay for the congregate meal afterwards ($3); just sign up at the door. Come and play a game or two with a Lion or come and learn the game!

We will once again beginning distributing books (selected by the school librarians, reading teachers or classroom teachers) to every elementary student in our area. We will begin with Moultonborough Central School on Tuesday, March 25.

Happy New Year to all. It has certainly been cold and very, very windy so far.

We are having our monthly meetings through April via zoom and will not be having dinner meetings during the same time.

HOWEVER, we have started a new community event — CRIBBAGE CLUB which will meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Various members of the Moultonborough Lions Club will be at the Moultonborough Function Hall from 10:00 am until noon when the congregate meal begins. Come learn how to play or just come to play a game or two, meet people, and have fun.

While the weather has been variable and we have not had much snow lately, it is the last month of the year and time for Holiday wishes and New Year’s Cheer.

To end 2025, we have been busy with our traditional holiday services. We have already received thank you notes for our holiday checks to the four communities we service.

Christmas Cards to nursing homes:  At the beginning of December, we brought 285  personally written Christmas cards to three nursing homes:  Golden View, Mountain View, and Forest View. One of our members, Joanne Vidal, hand made her cards.

Mark also did our last vision screening of 2024 at Ashland Elementary, screening 53 students.

BINGO: please remember there will be no Bingo on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve.

The winner of the 2024 Lions Club Raffle was an individual who lives in Long Island, NY and has a summer place on Long Island in Moultonborough. His wife bought the tickets and put his name of a few and his ticket was picked out of the drum at 1 pm on December 7 to receive the $5,000 money. The couple also graciously donated $1,000 back to the Club to help with service projects in the community.

Wishing everyone a healthy 2025!

And coming in 2025, the Moultonborough Lions Club will be hosting a cribbage game event at the Moultonborough Function Hall. Anyone who would like to play cribbage or learn how to play is welcome. We will provide the cards and the cribbage games. We will start on Tuesday, January 7 at 11. Depending on interest, we may offer this activity twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Stay tuned.

November is a busy month for our Club.

Thanksgiving and giving. Our club matched the money collected by the Moultonborough staff and administration to provide food gift certificates to families in the area.

We also contributed $500 to Breaking Bread Food Pantry to help buy supplies for over 70 families and two members helped to pack vegetables on November 22.

Sally (in red) with the hard-working crew of Breaking Bread

Bob doing some heavy loading

The Club decided to deliver our Christmas checks to Moultonborough, Tuftonboro, Center Harbor, and Sandwich. Each town decides how best to use the money; however, the majority goes towards the needs and wishes of children. Below is a photo of Co-President Mark Cotrupi handing the check to Brittany Durgen, Moultonborough Public Library Director, for the Santa Fund. The checks to the two towns totaled $2,500,

One of the service platforms of Lions Clubs throughout the world is pediatric cancer. Several weeks ago, Pete and Judy Strople delivered $500 worth of toys (listed on the CHaD Amazon Wish List) to Molly’s House at Dartmouth hospital.

Our raffle sales in front of Heath’s from July through October are over and many Club members (and our District President and Secretary/Treasurer) got together on a Saturday to stuff 1,1000 envelopes with raffle tickets and a letter explaining the many services the Moultonborough Lions Club provides. We have already received many return envelopes with raffle tickets and checks enclosed. Thanks so much to all who responded. Your last chance to buy a raffle to win $5,000 will be at the Christmas Fair at MCS on December 7.

Things seem to get busy in the autumn. As well as temperatures beginning to cool and leaves starting to don their red, gold and orange leaves, The Moultonborough Lions are out and about.

Roadside Clean-up: Three Lions, Sarah, Mark and Bill picked up 20 bags of trash along The Center Harbor section of Route 25.

We plan to clean parts if Route 25 in Moultonborough later in October as well as clean a portion of the road in Sandwich — with some Moultonborough Academy students.

Raffle: Our last time to sell raffle tickets in front of EM Heath’s will be Saturday, October 12. On Saturday, October 26 we will be meeting to stuff over 1000 envelopes with raffle tickets and information. Look for your envelope in the mail soon after. The drawing will be held at 1 pm at the Holiday Fair at Moultonborough Central School. You can buy tickets on that day, starting at 9 am and ending at 12:45 before the drawing.

Camp Pride: Five Lions (Dawn, Sally, Larry, Pete and Judy) spent Saturday morning on September 18 cleaning our adopted bunkhouse in preparation for winter.

Vision Screening: Mark Cotrupi has been extremely busy doing vision screening at area elementary and middle schools (sometimes with the help of a few other Lions but always with the assistance of the school nurses).

Two schools — and 466 students — were screened over two days in September. And during the month of October, we have 10 schools already scheduled. Four schools were done between October 2 and 7 with 527 students being screened.

We would be more that happy to do nursery schools if asked.

Bingo: remember Bingo is held every Tuesday. Doors open at 5:30 and the calling begins at 6:30