Turlock Lions

Here are the words for our Lion brothers who hum during the song. Sorry, nothing I can do about the off key fellows!
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring!

These words were born be­cause Smith’s friend, Low­ell Ma­son, could not read Ger­man. Ma­son had re­ceived sev­er­al Ger­man hymn­als, and sent them to Smith, who he knew un­der­stood Ger­man. In one of them, Smith ran across the tune now used for My Count­ry ’Tis of Thee. No­ting that the Ger­man words were pa­tri­o­tic in na­ture:

I in­stant­ly felt the im­pulse to write a pa­tri­o­tic hymn of my own, adapt­ed to the tune. Pick­ing up a scrap of waste pa­per which lay near me, I wrote at once, prob­ab­ly with­in half an hour, the hymn ‘Amer­i­ca’ as it is now known ev­ery­where. The whole hymn stands to­day as it stood on the bit of waste paper.


Dr. Smith vis­it­ed the Board of Trade in Chi­ca­go [Il­li­nois] in May of 1887. While sit­ting in the gal­lery he was point­ed out to the some of the mem­bers. Soon he be­came the cen­ter of con­sid­er­a­ble no­tice. All at once the trad­ing on the floor ceased, and from the wheat-pit came the fa­mil­iar words, “My count­ry ’tis of thee.” Af­ter two stan­zas had been sung, Dr. Smith arose and bowed. A rous­ing cheer was giv­en by the men on the floor, to which Dr. Smith was now es­cort­ed by the sec­re­ta­ry of the Board. The mem­bers flocked around Dr. Smith and grasped his hand. Then they opened a pass­age through the crowd and led him to the wheat-pit, where they took off their hats and sang the rest of the hymn.

Lion’s Bulletin July 15, 2006


Greetings to all Lion’s club members new and old. For the members who have been around awhile I hope the monthly news letter is like seeing an old friend again. And to the new members I hope that this monthly update will help to keep you apprised of club activities.

Derby Info. Lion Rick Martin has done the club proud and is doing an excellent job of keeping our best event on track for success. Ad money due by 7-20. Two comp tickets per member 7-20; must be present to collect no exceptions. Derby tickets will also be available for purchase. Derby nights are the 2nd and 3rd of August. Check you assignments. Any questions contact Rick Martin 668-3143. Anytime, he is retired!

Lion’s Reno trip scheduled for 10-17 through 10-29. First 22 couples. Cost $300 per and deposit of $100 due by August 15. Includes round trip bus ride room and ALCOHOL on bus both ways but not for the driver. Lion Lee H. for details. 634-8126. After August 15 it is open to the public i.e. Family and friends.

Camp Pacifica work day 7-23. BBQ for the kid’s lunch and dinner. If you have an RV and many of you do, head on up Saturday night to the fairgrounds and enjoy the evening with your fellow Lion’s. Contact El’ Presidente’ for details.

If you still owe your yearly dues they are as the word states “DUE.”

Sponsors of new members do me a favor and submit their info to me so I can get a news letter to them.

A big thank you from Past President Mike Mendonca for flowers received for his beloved mother’s passing.
“Your welcome my friend from all of your Lion brothers.

I realize that this first bulletin may appear a little plain but not to worry. I will have a topped notch rag hitting you domicile by September

Ok guys, do not panic or lose any sleep over the first bulletin of the King Ralphie the 1st regime. I should have it out this coming Monday. Board meeting this Thursday. E-mail any info you want published because the 1st news letter will probably be a mailed hard copy.