The Dumas Noon Lions Club, who sponsor and operate the Dumas Dogie Days, are the senior civic club in Moore County, tracing their roots back to August 1930.
Dumas Noon Lions Club — Early History Timeline What the newspapers tell us, 1930–1941
August 20, 1930 — The Dumas Lions Club is organized.
The strongest evidence we have for the club’s actual beginning comes from the Moore County News dated Friday, August 22, 1930. It reports that at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, the Dumas Lions Club was organized. Charter members were named, officers were to be elected at the following Wednesday’s luncheon, and application would then be made to Lions International for a charter.
Source: Moore County News, Aug. 22, 1930.
August 27, 1930 — First regular Lions meeting/officer organization.
Later club histories identify August 27 as the date the Dumas Lions “met for the first time,” with 23 members at Butler Cafe. The contemporary Aug. 22 article helps clarify the difference: the club had actually been organized Aug. 20, with officers scheduled to be chosen Aug. 27.
Source: Moore County News-Press, June 15, 1989, looking back on the 1930 organization; compared with the contemporary Moore County News, Aug. 22, 1930.
September 1930 — The young club is already growing and preparing for its charter.
By Sept. 19 the Lions were meeting at Butler Cafe, adding members, preparing for Charter Night, purchasing an American flag, and planning a highway sign directing travelers through Dumas.
Source: Moore County News, Sept. 19, 1930.
September 29, 1930 — Charter Night.
The formal charter celebration was held at Butler Cafe and the Dumas Theatre, with Lions attending from Amarillo, Dalhart, Stratford and Spearman. District Governor Sam Braswell presented the charter, which President Julius Weidling accepted for Dumas.
Braswell also said Dumas had the distinction of being the first Lions club organized for the new official Lions International year.
Source: Moore County News, Oct. 3, 1930, “Lions Club Charter Night Was Big Affair.”
October 1930 — Civic service begins almost immediately.
The new Lions became involved in community improvement, including a citywide cleanup. Later histories remembered this as the first of hundreds of Lions civic projects.
At the Oct. 24 luncheon, Lions discussed Dumas school overcrowding, school improvements, muddy streets, drainage, curbs and gutters — showing that club meetings were already serving as an important community forum.
Sources: Moore County News, October 1930, including Oct. 24, “Lions Club Holds Open Forum on Several Issues.”
November–December 1930 — The Lions establish early community traditions.
The club promoted a Christmas tree at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street and participated in cleanup, housing and community-development efforts. A later account notes that the Lions erected a large lighted tree that Christmas.
Sources: Moore County News, Nov.–Dec. 1930; later summarized in the News-Press history.
1931 — Trouble comes much earlier than later histories suggest January 1931 — The club is still alive, but already having problems finding a meeting place.
On Jan. 29 the Moore County News addressed rumors that the Dumas Lions Club had “died out.” The paper said that was not true, explaining that several meetings had been abandoned because the Lions had no satisfactory place to meet. Efforts were underway to correct the problem so the Lions could “roar” again.
Source: Moore County News, Jan. 29, 1931.
This is important because it shows that the club’s difficulties cannot be described simply as “the Depression shut the club down in 1931.” The club struggled, rallied, and continued working.
March 1931 — Lions remain active in charity work.
The club planned a charity entertainment at the Scout Building and held rehearsals for the benefit.
Source: Moore County News, March 6, 1931.
April 1931 — The Lions are still active in major civic work.
The club supported cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and community development, including preparations connected with the Santa Fe railroad and Chamber reorganization. The meeting involved roughly 20 members.
Source: Moore County News, April 3, 1931.
October 30, 1931 — The club reaches a serious crossroads.
International Lions representative O. W. Webb visited Dumas after some members believed the local charter had been forfeited. Webb explained that the charter had not been canceled and found that many Dumas Lions wanted the organization to continue. Arrangements were made for the charter to remain in place, with International services temporarily routed through the Community Club until regular Lions luncheons resumed.
Source: Moore County News, Oct. 30, 1931, article concerning the visit of an International Lions representative.
This appears to be our best contemporary evidence for the beginning of the club’s Depression-era hiatus.
1932–1935 — The quiet years
So far, we have found very little evidence of an operating Dumas Lions Club during these years. The newspaper evidence from late 1931 indicates the charter had been preserved, but regular Lions activity had largely ceased.
Later histories describe the club as having suspended activities during the Depression because the cost of meals and membership became difficult for members.
Source: Moore County News-Press, June 15, 1989, retrospective club history.
1936 — The Sunray connection
April 1936 — A new Sunray Lions Club is chartered, while Dumas appears inactive.
The Sunray Lions Club received its charter with Ed Berg as president. Among visitors from around the Panhandle, the newspaper humorously mentions “a couple of slid-back Lions from Dumas.”
That wording strongly suggests former or inactive Lions remained in Dumas even though an active Dumas club was not yet functioning normally.
Source: Sunray Oil Dispatch, April 9, 1936, “Sunray Lions Club Charter Night Banquet Was a Big Affair With Visitors From All Over Panhandle.”
June–July 1936 — Ed Berg and F. V. Wallace lead Sunray Lions.
Ed Berg was reelected president of Sunray Lions for the Lions year beginning July 1. F. V. Wallace was secretary.
In July they were formally installed in those positions.
Sources: Sunray Oil Dispatch, June 1936 and July 10, 1936.
This is one of the most intriguing discoveries in our research because both men soon become important figures in the revived Dumas club.
1937 — Dumas Lions roar again
Early 1937 — The Dumas Lions Club is reorganized/reactivated.
We have not yet located the exact first reorganization announcement, but contemporary evidence makes clear that the club had recently restarted.
A Dec. 19, 1968 history, based on records attributed to longtime Lion and attorney Eli Willis, gave the specific date as mid-January 1937, with about 25 members and Ed Berg as the first president of the reactivated club.
Source: Moore County News, Dec. 19, 1968, retrospective history.
Because this is a later source, I would describe mid-January as the reported date rather than an absolutely established date.
April 30, 1937 — Contemporary proof of the revived club.
The Moore County News says a Dumas Lions meeting drew the largest attendance since the club’s “organization several weeks ago.” It identifies Ed Berg as club president.
The club was preparing to welcome the Texas Highway Commission, and several Lions planned to attend the District 2-T convention in Big Spring.
Source: Moore County News, April 30, 1937.
This is probably our strongest contemporary confirmation that the Dumas Lions had been reorganized only weeks or months earlier.
June 1937 — Community and youth work resumes.
The Dumas Lions were helping revive Boy Scout work and were involved in community projects, softball-field improvements, road issues and district Lions activities. Ed Berg continued to be identified as president in June.
Source: Moore County News, June 18, 1937.
June 10–11, 1937 — Fred Wortham is elected president for the coming Lions year.
This was one of our most surprising discoveries. The contemporary newspaper reports Fred Wortham defeating Floyd Elliott for president. R. J. McReynolds became first vice president, Ezelle Fox second vice president, A. P. Bralley third vice president, Cecil Baer secretary-treasurer, Eli Willis Tail Twister, Bob Spencer Lion Tamer, with Bob McLaughlin and Guy Dillingham as directors. The article says the new officers would take office July 1.
Source: Moore County News, June 11, 1937, “Lions Run Wild in Naming Club Officers for Next Year.”
This conflicts with later published president lists that give only “1937 — Ed Berg.” The contemporary record suggests Berg was the reorganization president, followed by Wortham for the regular 1937–38 Lions year.
1938 — Another correction to the later president list June 30, 1938 — Ezelle Fox installed as president.
The newspaper reports installation of:
Source: Moore County News, June 30, 1938.
July 21, 1938 — Fox confirmed as current president.
The paper again specifically identifies Ezelle Fox as president and Cecil Baer as secretary while inviting Moore County pioneers to a Lions luncheon.
Source: Moore County News, July 21, 1938.
This creates a definite conflict with later lists that say 1938 — R. L. McReynolds; 1939 — Ezelle Fox. The contemporary newspaper evidence puts Fox in office during 1938–39.
December 1938 — The Christmas tradition is alive again.
The revived Lions held their annual Christmas tree and party for Moore County children at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street, with plans to move the celebration to the courthouse if weather was bad. The newspaper also praised the Lions’ Red Cross and toy-distribution efforts.
Source: Moore County News, Dec. 15, 1938.
1940–41 — F. V. Wallace rises to district leadership
By 1940, former Sunray Lions secretary and later Dumas officer F. V. Wallace was Dumas’ candidate for District Governor.
The May 1940 newspaper describes the Dumas Lions’ trip to the district convention at Midland and their colorful “We’re for Wally” campaign to elect Wallace District Governor.
He subsequently served as District Governor for 1940–41, an important early distinction for the Dumas club.
Source: Moore County News, May 9, 1940.
A note about the conflicting histories
This research uncovered several places where later newspaper histories do not perfectly match the newspapers printed when the events actually occurred.
A 1968 article said the original Dumas Lions Club might have begun in 1928 or 1929 and reported that it was reactivated in mid-January 1937. The contemporary 1930 newspapers, however, are much stronger evidence for the original founding: the Aug. 22, 1930 issue says outright that the Dumas Lions Club was organized that week, and the October Charter Night article describes it as a newly organized club.
The later 1989, 2006 and 2007 histories settled on Aug. 27, 1930 as the “first meeting,” Sept. 29 as Charter Night, and Ed Berg as the 1937 president.
Our contemporary newspaper research gives a little fuller version:
August 20, 1930 — organized
August 27, 1930 — officers/first regular organizational meeting
September 29, 1930 — Charter Night
Late 1931 — regular activity largely fades
1932–1936 — Depression-era hiatus/inactivity
Early 1937 — club reactivated, Ed Berg president
July 1937 — Fred Wortham begins the next regular term
1938–39 — Ezelle Fox president
1940–41 — F. V. Wallace serves as District Governor
I think that is the most defensible timeline we can write from everything you have uncovered so far. It doesn't hide the contradictions; it explains them and gives preference to the newspaper reports written when the events were actually happening.
For over seven decades the active club has operated Dumas Dogie Days, the largest annual Moore County, Texas celebration, which has grown tremendously over its history. Profits from this activity fund a long list of Lions programs as well as local Moore County charities. The club has grown, along with its largest project, in 2015 our club was recognized as the 5th largest Lions Club in the International Lions Organization with 217 members. It truly is a club with a tradition of spirit and action. The number of members were quite smaller when the Dumas Lions met for the first time on August 27, 1930… with 23 members listed. The noon luncheon meeting was held in the Butler Cafe, the Lions' home for several years. Julius Weidling, a Dumas real estate dealer, was the first president. Noel McDade, was the first vice president. Gayle Crigler was the secretary/treasurer. H.A. McHenry, the Tail-Twister, and I.E. Walker the Lion Tamer. Directors were Bob Powell, K.A. McAdams, and Floyd Elliott. There were 33 members by the time the club's charter night banquet was held on September 29, 1930. Lion’s delegations from Amarillo, Dalhart, Stratford, and Spearman attended the gala affair. It was the social event of 1930. Charter members included are as follows: R.C. Anthony, Wiley Fox, R.E. Ponce, B.E. Bard, S.H. Haile, Walter Powell, M.A. Brown, A.F. Harvey, Bob Powell, Lucian Burnett, Charles Jameson, K.A. McAdams, J.H. Butler, E.W. Kimbill, Noel McDade, V.R. Crabtree, George E. Lewis, Rev. H.A. McHenry, Gayle Crigler, E.S. Makeig, F.W. Reid, Guy Dillingham, Ralph W. Miller, M.A. Turner, Charles W. Divelbiss, J.V. Mills, E.E. Walker, Floyd Elliot, A.E. Moore, abd Julius Weidling.
Charter night, incidentally, came three days after Dumas residents voted 78 to 2 to incorporate the city. The year 1930 saw a number of major advances in the small village that was growing into a town. Lions District Governor, Sam Braswell Clarendon publisher, headed up the charter night program, also held at the Butler Café. President Potter Underwood of the Amarillo Lions was on the program along with the presidents of Lions Clubs at Stratford, Spearman, and Dalhart. There were singing groups from the Amarillo and Dalhart Lions, along with singers from the Dumas schools. Vice President McDade welcomed the visitors to Dumas and President Wielding accepted the club's charter in a short talk. The next week the Dumas Lions were into another civic project... sponsoring a citywide cleanup of the newly incorporated City of Dumas with some 640 residents. This was the first of hundreds of public programs in which the Dumas Noon Lions has figured in 75 years in Moore County, TX and with the International Lions. President Weldling, an enthusiastic civic booster, also was an accomplished pianist, able to liven up meetings with his skill. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Mills was an early musical program for the club, he on the violin, and Mrs. Mills playing the guitar. The weekly meetings, then as now, furnished a forum for public projects. An October 1930 meeting had Dumas school growth and needs explained by Supt. J.W. Reid, a longtime club member. At another, a discussion centered on the city's muddy streets... the newly incorporated city had no paving and few streets were even graded. Boss Lion Weidling proposed that the club sponsor a lighted Christmas tree for the holiday season. They did even more than this...Christmas week the Lions erected a large tree at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street, (now Seventh Street), along with strands of lights out from this intersection. The club was well underway when the Depression came in force, and activities were suspended. The simple cost of dining out and club membership dues were too much for many members and the club took a hiatus during the hardest days of the Depression. The Dumas Noon Lions Club were reinstated by 1937, when Ed Berg was president, and has grown steadily since. For a time, they met at the old First Christian Church building in west Dumas. The women of the Church prepared and served the weekly meal.
The basement of the old Masonic Hall on Eighth Street, just south of the courthouse served as a meeting place for a couple of years during World War II. Shortly after the war, the ambitious club acquired a surplus army barracks and moved it into Morton Park, apparently with an agreement with the City of Dumas that the building serve as something of a community center. Both the Boy and Girl Scouts had part of the large frame building as a regular meeting place.
In the 1950's the club acquired a special membership chairman. Mrs. Ruth Beck, who for some 25 years prepared and served the Dumas Noon Lions with their weekly family style luncheon that, was a highlight of the member's week, and a diet-buster. Membership grew steadily to its then present 230 plus, helped during the first 25 years by Mrs. Beck's ample servings and a expanding program of civic work.
The Dumas Noon Lions picked up a long-standing, but intermittent pioneer celebration called the "Old Settler's Reunion and Rodeo" that was renamed Dumas Dogie Days in 1946 by Lion Mutt McMurry. A "Dogie" is a motherless calf, pronounced "Dough-gee", like in the phrase, "Get along little dogie." This celebration grew with the club's active management and with members assuming special duties for the event, particularly during Dogie Days week. Then, as they now do, Dumas Noon Lions erected a midway, ran games and concession stands, and manned the traditional Dogie Days Barbecue.
The stupendous outdoor feed, held for many years on the courthouse square, has served up to 10,000 persons, most of them with tickets bought in advance. The tickets also give holders an opportunity to win a new automobile or pickup truck, a major feature of the annual event.
The old barracks building served the club well for some 20 years, but was replaced in 1968 with a new and modern brick structure at 6th and Porter.
The club first acquired an old building and site on Dumas Avenue, the former Hazel's Cafeteria building. When this site increased in value in the 1960's, it was sold for enough profit to acquire debt-free, the 6th & Porter tract, a quarter of a block. A special monthly membership assessment was made for years to build a fund for the building, apart from the substantial Dogie Days earnings which are earmarked for over two dozen Dumas Noon Lions charities and programs.
The proud new building was completed in 1968 and Boss Lion, Bill Spann, longtime Dumas Demon football coach, was the first president to serve in it. The building's meeting hall is used frequently for other community functions. The Dumas Noon Lions had another major change in 1977, when Dogie Days were moved from the courthouse square to McDade Park in south Dumas. Another event, which was met with much controversy, began in Lions International in the mid 1980's...the question of whether to accept women as Lions Club members. This issue was finally decided in a U.S. Supreme Court case brought about by women trying to enter Rotary International. The Supreme Court ruled that service clubs could not discriminate on the basis of sex and as a result of this ruling, Lions International voted to open membership to women. Delia Trexler, who had served the Dumas Noon Lions Club as a paid bookkeeper and assistant secretary for many years, was admitted and installed as a full-fledged member on July 6, 1987. Her sponsor was Wayne Smith, immediate past president of that year. The "new" Dumas Noon Lions Club building came full circle on November 15, 1988, when Boss Lion John Grist and Treasurer Bart Templeton lit a match to the 20-year note for the building. Ironically, less than 30 days later, work began to completely remodel the kitchen area, located in the north end of the building. When this project was finally completed (the work was done between December 15, 1988 and January 17, 1989) the cost almost matched the entire cost of the original building...such is the price of progress! The Dumas Noon Lions Club use funds generated from Dogie Days and other fund raisers for the preceding projects. Lions are quick to emphasize none of the funds they make from Dogie Days or other projects are used for building additions or improvements. The Lions Motto... "WE SERVE"...means just that to Dumas Noon Lions members and with the continued support of the Dumas community, will keep on providing aid to those less fortunate and serving our community.
Dumas Noon Lions Club — Early History Timeline What the newspapers tell us, 1930–1941
August 20, 1930 — The Dumas Lions Club is organized.
The strongest evidence we have for the club’s actual beginning comes from the Moore County News dated Friday, August 22, 1930. It reports that at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, the Dumas Lions Club was organized. Charter members were named, officers were to be elected at the following Wednesday’s luncheon, and application would then be made to Lions International for a charter.
Source: Moore County News, Aug. 22, 1930.
August 27, 1930 — First regular Lions meeting/officer organization.
Later club histories identify August 27 as the date the Dumas Lions “met for the first time,” with 23 members at Butler Cafe. The contemporary Aug. 22 article helps clarify the difference: the club had actually been organized Aug. 20, with officers scheduled to be chosen Aug. 27.
Source: Moore County News-Press, June 15, 1989, looking back on the 1930 organization; compared with the contemporary Moore County News, Aug. 22, 1930.
September 1930 — The young club is already growing and preparing for its charter.
By Sept. 19 the Lions were meeting at Butler Cafe, adding members, preparing for Charter Night, purchasing an American flag, and planning a highway sign directing travelers through Dumas.
Source: Moore County News, Sept. 19, 1930.
September 29, 1930 — Charter Night.
The formal charter celebration was held at Butler Cafe and the Dumas Theatre, with Lions attending from Amarillo, Dalhart, Stratford and Spearman. District Governor Sam Braswell presented the charter, which President Julius Weidling accepted for Dumas.
Braswell also said Dumas had the distinction of being the first Lions club organized for the new official Lions International year.
Source: Moore County News, Oct. 3, 1930, “Lions Club Charter Night Was Big Affair.”
October 1930 — Civic service begins almost immediately.
The new Lions became involved in community improvement, including a citywide cleanup. Later histories remembered this as the first of hundreds of Lions civic projects.
At the Oct. 24 luncheon, Lions discussed Dumas school overcrowding, school improvements, muddy streets, drainage, curbs and gutters — showing that club meetings were already serving as an important community forum.
Sources: Moore County News, October 1930, including Oct. 24, “Lions Club Holds Open Forum on Several Issues.”
November–December 1930 — The Lions establish early community traditions.
The club promoted a Christmas tree at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street and participated in cleanup, housing and community-development efforts. A later account notes that the Lions erected a large lighted tree that Christmas.
Sources: Moore County News, Nov.–Dec. 1930; later summarized in the News-Press history.
1931 — Trouble comes much earlier than later histories suggest January 1931 — The club is still alive, but already having problems finding a meeting place.
On Jan. 29 the Moore County News addressed rumors that the Dumas Lions Club had “died out.” The paper said that was not true, explaining that several meetings had been abandoned because the Lions had no satisfactory place to meet. Efforts were underway to correct the problem so the Lions could “roar” again.
Source: Moore County News, Jan. 29, 1931.
This is important because it shows that the club’s difficulties cannot be described simply as “the Depression shut the club down in 1931.” The club struggled, rallied, and continued working.
March 1931 — Lions remain active in charity work.
The club planned a charity entertainment at the Scout Building and held rehearsals for the benefit.
Source: Moore County News, March 6, 1931.
April 1931 — The Lions are still active in major civic work.
The club supported cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and community development, including preparations connected with the Santa Fe railroad and Chamber reorganization. The meeting involved roughly 20 members.
Source: Moore County News, April 3, 1931.
October 30, 1931 — The club reaches a serious crossroads.
International Lions representative O. W. Webb visited Dumas after some members believed the local charter had been forfeited. Webb explained that the charter had not been canceled and found that many Dumas Lions wanted the organization to continue. Arrangements were made for the charter to remain in place, with International services temporarily routed through the Community Club until regular Lions luncheons resumed.
Source: Moore County News, Oct. 30, 1931, article concerning the visit of an International Lions representative.
This appears to be our best contemporary evidence for the beginning of the club’s Depression-era hiatus.
1932–1935 — The quiet years
So far, we have found very little evidence of an operating Dumas Lions Club during these years. The newspaper evidence from late 1931 indicates the charter had been preserved, but regular Lions activity had largely ceased.
Later histories describe the club as having suspended activities during the Depression because the cost of meals and membership became difficult for members.
Source: Moore County News-Press, June 15, 1989, retrospective club history.
1936 — The Sunray connection
April 1936 — A new Sunray Lions Club is chartered, while Dumas appears inactive.
The Sunray Lions Club received its charter with Ed Berg as president. Among visitors from around the Panhandle, the newspaper humorously mentions “a couple of slid-back Lions from Dumas.”
That wording strongly suggests former or inactive Lions remained in Dumas even though an active Dumas club was not yet functioning normally.
Source: Sunray Oil Dispatch, April 9, 1936, “Sunray Lions Club Charter Night Banquet Was a Big Affair With Visitors From All Over Panhandle.”
June–July 1936 — Ed Berg and F. V. Wallace lead Sunray Lions.
Ed Berg was reelected president of Sunray Lions for the Lions year beginning July 1. F. V. Wallace was secretary.
In July they were formally installed in those positions.
Sources: Sunray Oil Dispatch, June 1936 and July 10, 1936.
This is one of the most intriguing discoveries in our research because both men soon become important figures in the revived Dumas club.
1937 — Dumas Lions roar again
Early 1937 — The Dumas Lions Club is reorganized/reactivated.
We have not yet located the exact first reorganization announcement, but contemporary evidence makes clear that the club had recently restarted.
A Dec. 19, 1968 history, based on records attributed to longtime Lion and attorney Eli Willis, gave the specific date as mid-January 1937, with about 25 members and Ed Berg as the first president of the reactivated club.
Source: Moore County News, Dec. 19, 1968, retrospective history.
Because this is a later source, I would describe mid-January as the reported date rather than an absolutely established date.
April 30, 1937 — Contemporary proof of the revived club.
The Moore County News says a Dumas Lions meeting drew the largest attendance since the club’s “organization several weeks ago.” It identifies Ed Berg as club president.
The club was preparing to welcome the Texas Highway Commission, and several Lions planned to attend the District 2-T convention in Big Spring.
Source: Moore County News, April 30, 1937.
This is probably our strongest contemporary confirmation that the Dumas Lions had been reorganized only weeks or months earlier.
June 1937 — Community and youth work resumes.
The Dumas Lions were helping revive Boy Scout work and were involved in community projects, softball-field improvements, road issues and district Lions activities. Ed Berg continued to be identified as president in June.
Source: Moore County News, June 18, 1937.
June 10–11, 1937 — Fred Wortham is elected president for the coming Lions year.
This was one of our most surprising discoveries. The contemporary newspaper reports Fred Wortham defeating Floyd Elliott for president. R. J. McReynolds became first vice president, Ezelle Fox second vice president, A. P. Bralley third vice president, Cecil Baer secretary-treasurer, Eli Willis Tail Twister, Bob Spencer Lion Tamer, with Bob McLaughlin and Guy Dillingham as directors. The article says the new officers would take office July 1.
Source: Moore County News, June 11, 1937, “Lions Run Wild in Naming Club Officers for Next Year.”
This conflicts with later published president lists that give only “1937 — Ed Berg.” The contemporary record suggests Berg was the reorganization president, followed by Wortham for the regular 1937–38 Lions year.
1938 — Another correction to the later president list June 30, 1938 — Ezelle Fox installed as president.
The newspaper reports installation of:
- Ezelle Fox — President
- F. V. Wallace — First Vice President
- R. L. Palmer — Second Vice President
- Floyd Elliott — Third Vice President
- Cecil Baer — Secretary
- John Pitts — Tail Twister
- Julius Weidling — Lion Tamer
- J. A. Gray and A. C. Youngblood — Directors
Source: Moore County News, June 30, 1938.
July 21, 1938 — Fox confirmed as current president.
The paper again specifically identifies Ezelle Fox as president and Cecil Baer as secretary while inviting Moore County pioneers to a Lions luncheon.
Source: Moore County News, July 21, 1938.
This creates a definite conflict with later lists that say 1938 — R. L. McReynolds; 1939 — Ezelle Fox. The contemporary newspaper evidence puts Fox in office during 1938–39.
December 1938 — The Christmas tradition is alive again.
The revived Lions held their annual Christmas tree and party for Moore County children at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street, with plans to move the celebration to the courthouse if weather was bad. The newspaper also praised the Lions’ Red Cross and toy-distribution efforts.
Source: Moore County News, Dec. 15, 1938.
1940–41 — F. V. Wallace rises to district leadership
By 1940, former Sunray Lions secretary and later Dumas officer F. V. Wallace was Dumas’ candidate for District Governor.
The May 1940 newspaper describes the Dumas Lions’ trip to the district convention at Midland and their colorful “We’re for Wally” campaign to elect Wallace District Governor.
He subsequently served as District Governor for 1940–41, an important early distinction for the Dumas club.
Source: Moore County News, May 9, 1940.
A note about the conflicting histories
This research uncovered several places where later newspaper histories do not perfectly match the newspapers printed when the events actually occurred.
A 1968 article said the original Dumas Lions Club might have begun in 1928 or 1929 and reported that it was reactivated in mid-January 1937. The contemporary 1930 newspapers, however, are much stronger evidence for the original founding: the Aug. 22, 1930 issue says outright that the Dumas Lions Club was organized that week, and the October Charter Night article describes it as a newly organized club.
The later 1989, 2006 and 2007 histories settled on Aug. 27, 1930 as the “first meeting,” Sept. 29 as Charter Night, and Ed Berg as the 1937 president.
Our contemporary newspaper research gives a little fuller version:
August 20, 1930 — organized
August 27, 1930 — officers/first regular organizational meeting
September 29, 1930 — Charter Night
Late 1931 — regular activity largely fades
1932–1936 — Depression-era hiatus/inactivity
Early 1937 — club reactivated, Ed Berg president
July 1937 — Fred Wortham begins the next regular term
1938–39 — Ezelle Fox president
1940–41 — F. V. Wallace serves as District Governor
I think that is the most defensible timeline we can write from everything you have uncovered so far. It doesn't hide the contradictions; it explains them and gives preference to the newspaper reports written when the events were actually happening.
For over seven decades the active club has operated Dumas Dogie Days, the largest annual Moore County, Texas celebration, which has grown tremendously over its history. Profits from this activity fund a long list of Lions programs as well as local Moore County charities. The club has grown, along with its largest project, in 2015 our club was recognized as the 5th largest Lions Club in the International Lions Organization with 217 members. It truly is a club with a tradition of spirit and action. The number of members were quite smaller when the Dumas Lions met for the first time on August 27, 1930… with 23 members listed. The noon luncheon meeting was held in the Butler Cafe, the Lions' home for several years. Julius Weidling, a Dumas real estate dealer, was the first president. Noel McDade, was the first vice president. Gayle Crigler was the secretary/treasurer. H.A. McHenry, the Tail-Twister, and I.E. Walker the Lion Tamer. Directors were Bob Powell, K.A. McAdams, and Floyd Elliott. There were 33 members by the time the club's charter night banquet was held on September 29, 1930. Lion’s delegations from Amarillo, Dalhart, Stratford, and Spearman attended the gala affair. It was the social event of 1930. Charter members included are as follows: R.C. Anthony, Wiley Fox, R.E. Ponce, B.E. Bard, S.H. Haile, Walter Powell, M.A. Brown, A.F. Harvey, Bob Powell, Lucian Burnett, Charles Jameson, K.A. McAdams, J.H. Butler, E.W. Kimbill, Noel McDade, V.R. Crabtree, George E. Lewis, Rev. H.A. McHenry, Gayle Crigler, E.S. Makeig, F.W. Reid, Guy Dillingham, Ralph W. Miller, M.A. Turner, Charles W. Divelbiss, J.V. Mills, E.E. Walker, Floyd Elliot, A.E. Moore, abd Julius Weidling.
Charter night, incidentally, came three days after Dumas residents voted 78 to 2 to incorporate the city. The year 1930 saw a number of major advances in the small village that was growing into a town. Lions District Governor, Sam Braswell Clarendon publisher, headed up the charter night program, also held at the Butler Café. President Potter Underwood of the Amarillo Lions was on the program along with the presidents of Lions Clubs at Stratford, Spearman, and Dalhart. There were singing groups from the Amarillo and Dalhart Lions, along with singers from the Dumas schools. Vice President McDade welcomed the visitors to Dumas and President Wielding accepted the club's charter in a short talk. The next week the Dumas Lions were into another civic project... sponsoring a citywide cleanup of the newly incorporated City of Dumas with some 640 residents. This was the first of hundreds of public programs in which the Dumas Noon Lions has figured in 75 years in Moore County, TX and with the International Lions. President Weldling, an enthusiastic civic booster, also was an accomplished pianist, able to liven up meetings with his skill. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Mills was an early musical program for the club, he on the violin, and Mrs. Mills playing the guitar. The weekly meetings, then as now, furnished a forum for public projects. An October 1930 meeting had Dumas school growth and needs explained by Supt. J.W. Reid, a longtime club member. At another, a discussion centered on the city's muddy streets... the newly incorporated city had no paving and few streets were even graded. Boss Lion Weidling proposed that the club sponsor a lighted Christmas tree for the holiday season. They did even more than this...Christmas week the Lions erected a large tree at Dumas Avenue and Andrews Street, (now Seventh Street), along with strands of lights out from this intersection. The club was well underway when the Depression came in force, and activities were suspended. The simple cost of dining out and club membership dues were too much for many members and the club took a hiatus during the hardest days of the Depression. The Dumas Noon Lions Club were reinstated by 1937, when Ed Berg was president, and has grown steadily since. For a time, they met at the old First Christian Church building in west Dumas. The women of the Church prepared and served the weekly meal.
The basement of the old Masonic Hall on Eighth Street, just south of the courthouse served as a meeting place for a couple of years during World War II. Shortly after the war, the ambitious club acquired a surplus army barracks and moved it into Morton Park, apparently with an agreement with the City of Dumas that the building serve as something of a community center. Both the Boy and Girl Scouts had part of the large frame building as a regular meeting place.
In the 1950's the club acquired a special membership chairman. Mrs. Ruth Beck, who for some 25 years prepared and served the Dumas Noon Lions with their weekly family style luncheon that, was a highlight of the member's week, and a diet-buster. Membership grew steadily to its then present 230 plus, helped during the first 25 years by Mrs. Beck's ample servings and a expanding program of civic work.
The Dumas Noon Lions picked up a long-standing, but intermittent pioneer celebration called the "Old Settler's Reunion and Rodeo" that was renamed Dumas Dogie Days in 1946 by Lion Mutt McMurry. A "Dogie" is a motherless calf, pronounced "Dough-gee", like in the phrase, "Get along little dogie." This celebration grew with the club's active management and with members assuming special duties for the event, particularly during Dogie Days week. Then, as they now do, Dumas Noon Lions erected a midway, ran games and concession stands, and manned the traditional Dogie Days Barbecue.
The stupendous outdoor feed, held for many years on the courthouse square, has served up to 10,000 persons, most of them with tickets bought in advance. The tickets also give holders an opportunity to win a new automobile or pickup truck, a major feature of the annual event.
The old barracks building served the club well for some 20 years, but was replaced in 1968 with a new and modern brick structure at 6th and Porter.
The club first acquired an old building and site on Dumas Avenue, the former Hazel's Cafeteria building. When this site increased in value in the 1960's, it was sold for enough profit to acquire debt-free, the 6th & Porter tract, a quarter of a block. A special monthly membership assessment was made for years to build a fund for the building, apart from the substantial Dogie Days earnings which are earmarked for over two dozen Dumas Noon Lions charities and programs.
The proud new building was completed in 1968 and Boss Lion, Bill Spann, longtime Dumas Demon football coach, was the first president to serve in it. The building's meeting hall is used frequently for other community functions. The Dumas Noon Lions had another major change in 1977, when Dogie Days were moved from the courthouse square to McDade Park in south Dumas. Another event, which was met with much controversy, began in Lions International in the mid 1980's...the question of whether to accept women as Lions Club members. This issue was finally decided in a U.S. Supreme Court case brought about by women trying to enter Rotary International. The Supreme Court ruled that service clubs could not discriminate on the basis of sex and as a result of this ruling, Lions International voted to open membership to women. Delia Trexler, who had served the Dumas Noon Lions Club as a paid bookkeeper and assistant secretary for many years, was admitted and installed as a full-fledged member on July 6, 1987. Her sponsor was Wayne Smith, immediate past president of that year. The "new" Dumas Noon Lions Club building came full circle on November 15, 1988, when Boss Lion John Grist and Treasurer Bart Templeton lit a match to the 20-year note for the building. Ironically, less than 30 days later, work began to completely remodel the kitchen area, located in the north end of the building. When this project was finally completed (the work was done between December 15, 1988 and January 17, 1989) the cost almost matched the entire cost of the original building...such is the price of progress! The Dumas Noon Lions Club use funds generated from Dogie Days and other fund raisers for the preceding projects. Lions are quick to emphasize none of the funds they make from Dogie Days or other projects are used for building additions or improvements. The Lions Motto... "WE SERVE"...means just that to Dumas Noon Lions members and with the continued support of the Dumas community, will keep on providing aid to those less fortunate and serving our community.