​LAWSUIT AGAINST LIONS CLUB ENDS PROUD CANADIAN FLAG TRADITION AFTER ALMOST 50 YEARS — BUT MEMBERS MOVE ON WITH NEW PET PROJECT

After nearly 50 years of flying Canadian flags through the summer, the Gravenhurst Lions Club has ended the tradition over safety and liability concerns. Now the service club is looking to new community projects — including a Rainbow Pet Bridge memorial — as it searches for volunteers and replacement fundraising.

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST  — On Canada Day weekend when Lions Club members would — for almost 50 years — normally be proudly putting out Canadian flags on the main street they were instead happily dedicating a small bridge on the Muskoka Wharf’s west boardwalk as “a Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial.”

As familiar as the long weekend itself the service club’s flag program is now absent

That’s because their flag program was derailed after almost a half century by a lawsuit.

And the red maple leaf’s absence has been noticeable.

“I know, we’re very, very sad to see it go,” said long-time Lion Nancy Durant, who with her husband Dave and more than a dozen club members has done it installed and removed the flags for decades

“We were some upset and scared.”

Years past “we had tried to get them out fairly early and kept them there until Labour Day,” she said.

They had their own poles along Muskoka Road and at the Wharf — which were helped paid for by local donations that have however been dwindling.

“It was getting to the point where we’ve always had vandalism with them. That’s just one of the unfortunate aspects. What we were finding — and what the town was finding — was that vandals weren’t happy with just ripping the flags off. They started breaking the poles off. And leaving part of the flagpole sticking out of the sidewalk. A couple of people tripped over them and they were very unhappy and they went to the town and they complained. I mean they had a good point.

“And there was an issue where somebody thought it might be kind of neat to start suing people over it.”

She said they did “have an issue where some of us involved in the program, our club, and some other people did get notices of lawsuits.”

The suit that ended the program was from back in about February.

“It was just, you know, the snow was melting. I guess, we’d had a bit of a thaw or something and there was an icy bit. And his claim was he was walking. It was off the sidewalk, but he was walking in there and tripped over it. He claimed he had tripped over one in the wintertime and fell.”

This after the Lions had annually removed the poles, which they’d embedded in sidewalks.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t we didn’t see all of the ones that were broken off and we had some down on the Wharf way. I guess there was a broken off one there.”

The suit “was settled out of court. Our insurance paid up,” Durant said, without revealing what it cost them.

“He just got what the insurance company said: ‘I guess this is what you’re going to get.’ And his lawyer figured he wasn’t going to get anymore, so that was it.”

The Lions, town, district and one business were all sued.

“They didn’t they didn’t miss anyone. But I think we were the only ones that paid up because it was our flagpole.”

The town said it gets sued 10 times weekly and wasn’t as worried.

“It was very unfortunate, and, you know, the town wasn’t happy about it either, but the parks and rec people felt that it probably was a good idea if we ceased and desisted.

The lawsuit ultimately convinced the club that the long-running program had become too great a liability.

“So we’ll just do them on November 11.”

The Lions talked about maybe this summer getting the flags up on light poles, but at $20 each and installation it would have been too expensive.

“But then we’re running into probably, you know, 20 bucks a flag or more to get to get the frames and everything and then the cost of getting them up on the poles and then having to pay the town people to go up the poles and put them on.

“Yeah, it was it was too bad. We were very sad to see it go. And I know some of the merchants are very disappointed, too.

“But we felt, we really had to come down on the side of safety and being reasonable and all the rest of it.”

She would like to see a resurrected BIA maybe take on the project along with their Christmas light program. Or perhaps merchants could place flags in their windows.

The loss of the flag program also means the loss of a source of community donations that helped support Lions projects.

Despite the setback, members continue to volunteer at community events, including serving hot dogs at the recent Gravenhurst Car Show.

“That barbecue was murderously hot,” Durant said. “We were a little worn out at the end of the day.”

The club also faces another challenge familiar to many service organizations: declining membership. Once numbering more than 30 members, the Gravenhurst Lions Club now has 15 men and women with a long history of helping Gravenhurst for about 65 years.

“Well, we’re all getting older. We’ve got three members in their ’90s and about four of us are in our ’80s,” said Durant. “Just look around. There’s an awful lot of grey hair or no hair.

“We’ve had some success actually getting high school students to give us a hand. But all the boys we’ve had are all working in their after school and summer jobs. So we’re down to one volunteer — but she is just absolutely wonderful.”

Durant remains optimistic

Membership “ebbs and flows, of course. Hopefully we can keep it going if new people come to town and join the club.”

Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial

But the Lions carry on.

“We did the dedication of the pet memorial, the Rainbow Bridge. There were a number of people there and they took brochures about the club and whatnot. So we’re hoping to get a little bit of interest out of that,” said Dave Durant.

It was a big success chaired by Lion Sharon Morton.

Durant also noted it has nothing to do with PRIDE or the nearby Lion’s Leo Trail across the road.

He said the town had the bridge and economic development manager Amy Taylor thought it would be a good idea to paint it, and make it into a Rainbow Pet bridge.

She talked to Morton and “we jumped at the chance to sell the memorial tags to provide a replacement income since we no longer have the income from the Canadian flags put up around town,” added Durant.

“Funny thing is,” he said “several years ago the late former president Chris Lewis and I were at a club training session in Memphis, Tenn., and one of the Lions was talking about their pet cemetery.

“Chris and I talked about us having a pet cemetery in Gravenhurst for years. But getting the land was the issue. The pet tags on the Rainbow Bridge are a close second.

“To date we have sold 38 tags and did not have to buy any property.”

See details here for how to memorialize your pet.

INSTRUCTIONS

• The price of the pet memorial tag is $50.
• The tags are made of weather resistant plastic – approximate size below.
• Please email this form plus send an E-Transfer for $50 to

Treasurer@GravenhurstLions.org

Or mail info with a cheque to Gravenhurst Lions Club,

PO Box 463 Gravenhurst ON P1P 1T8

• It normally takes approximately 4 – 6 weeks to get the tags engraved and installed,

however tags are not installed in winter.

• Please note that this is NOT a pet cemetery. We regret we do not have facilities to

handle pet coffins, ash urns, etc.

• Also note the bridge is designed for memorial tags only. Any collars, photos,

leashes, etc. will be removed.

• If there are any questions, please email Secretary@GravenhurstLions.org

  

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