 Don Bowers: A Stand-Up Lion
“Sit down, Bowers!” someone is sure to shout at most meetings of the Eugene Downtown Lions Club (EDLC).
For visitors and newcomers, it seems a jarringly rude command, directed at a tall, erect man of eighty-four. Usually, this man, Lion Don Bowers, has stood to aim some words at the group, often failing to seek or receive permission to speak.
But, the truth is, “Sit down, Bowers,” is an old, treasured tradition, one of many in the EDLC. For example, Lions who are foolish enough to announce that they will not be able to attend the next meeting are greeted with loud cheers and applause. Take just a little too long making an announcement or oral report, and someone is sure to shout, “Is this the program?!”
The “Bowers” who is regularly ordered back to his seat has been a member of the EDLC since 1958. To save you some math, that means he is in his fifty-second year of membership, and he remains an active participant in Lions’ projects and activities.
Getting Don Bowers to stay seated at a meeting is nothing compared to the difficulty of getting him to sit down for an interview. The reason for this difficulty reveals much about this long-time Lion: Don Bowers does not want to talk about Don Bowers.
He finally agreed to a breakfast meeting at Braille's, a favorite meeting place for EDLC members. He had brought along a 1966 Membership Guide, which he proceeded to leaf through, reflecting on who these men were (women were not yet members) and what they had contributed to the club.
As I repeatedly prodded him for more information about himself, he bobbed and weaved, always returning to a familiar theme: what Lions had done for him, not what he had done for Lions.
“I have been fortunate,” said the man who has held numerous local, regional, and state Lions Club offices. For the EDLC, he has been president (after the required two years as vice-president), board member, Tail Twister, and bulletin editor.
Beyond these local offices, Lion Don was a Council Chairman, Chairman of the Sight and Hearing Foundation, and, most notably, District Governor.
His comment on all these achievements? “I got to work with some fantastic people.” He also evolved the “Bowers’ Theory of Incompetence”: “Even if you are incompetent, the Lions won’t let you fail.” In other words, in every job you do for the Lions, you can count on a huge, dependable support network.
This network, of course, extends around the world, and Lion Don has encountered the warm welcome of fellow Lions in many foreign countries. For example, a Lion friend he made in Australia was scheduled to visit the Bowers’ home in mid-February.
Lion Don also met many Lion friends north of the border when he attended the Lions U.S.-Canada Forum, during his term as District Governor in 1982-’83. He has many good memories of this time, including the work that EDLC Lion Yvonne Hamson did, painting modern art posters for each of the fifty-seven clubs in the district.
Memories, of course, can be the curse of the older generation. But Don Bowers is not a man crippled by nostalgia. As he pages through that 1966 membership roster, it is clear that he values and misses many of these men who are no longer living Lions.
But, this is a man who is always looking to the future of the EDLC. When he stands up at a meeting, it is often to prod members to volunteer for service opportunities. Sometimes, though, he is just looking for a laugh, and he believes fun at meetings is vitally important.
In fact, fun has been a tradition of this club. During his term as District Governor, Lion Don visited all fifty-seven clubs in his district, and the last stop was his own club. He stood before his fellow Lions and said, “Now that I’ve visited all these other clubs, I can tell you that you guys are the raunchiest, loudest, most obnoxious...”
At this point, he saw venerable Lion John Hamson rising from his seat to protest, but Bowers continued, “...and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be!”
Actually, the EDLC meetings are sedate compared to the way they once were, but a hallmark of the group is that no one is allowed to take himself/herself too seriously. The serious side is the lifelong friendship bonds that are created.
Lion Don tells of having his barn roof blown off in 1981. Lion Walt Curtis showed up and, despite recent wrist surgery, handed all the roofing materials up to the roofers until the job was completed. He refused any payment, and when Lion Don sent a check anyway, Lion Walt used it and some of his own money to purchase a new electric drill for Bowers.
That is Lionism. As Don Bowers puts it, “Stinginess begets stinginess, and generosity begets generosity.” When Lion Don’s ticket was drawn in the bicycle raffle at the 2008 Lions pancake breakfast, he quickly handed the bike to a young boy who had looked especially disappointed when his number had not been drawn.
So, Lion Don Bowers keeps going, standing up whenever the spirit moves him. Though he is retired from his profession as an auditor, he continues to spend time at his ranch on Gimple Road, and he has bought and sold considerable property over the years.
Married to his wife Faye since 1947, Lion Don is the father of five, and the Bowers family now includes ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
There is no indication that this man has any interest in slowing down. Nor is it likely that he will decide to stay seated at meetings. In truth, the next time he rises to his feet at a meeting, it might be more appropriate for his fellow Lions to stand up along with him in a salute to this stalwart leader.
After that, someone will no doubt shout, “Sit down, Bowers!”
By Lion Jim Newton, EDLC
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