The May 8 meeting of the Perry Lions Club was the occasion of the club’s annual picnic potluck dinner at Sportsman’s Park near Dawson. Eighteen members and three guests were present. The guests were Charlie Thompson, Bill Wilson and Chris Adkins, with Adkins presenting the evening’s program.
Chefs Harley McGuire and Doug Volz prepared three kinds of meat for the club members: pork tenderloin, bratwurst and smoked chicken legs. All three were very tasty. Baked beans, potato salad, scalloped corn, relishes and deviled eggs were also served. For dessert the club had homemade ice cream, rhubarb pie, brownies and other desserts.
Perry Lions Club President John Andorf presented a 20-year membership pin to Lion Jack Schelker and a 40-year membership pin to Lion Richard Saemisch. The two men have worked on countless club projects and given many hours of service to the Lions Club and the Perry community.
Following the meal, Adkins, a naturalist from the Dallas County Conservation Department, talked about the life cycle and habits of the monarch butterflies and the plight they are currently suffering.
The monarchs’ population has been reduced by 90 percent in the past 10 years, Adkins said. The reason for their decline in numbers is due to changes in habitat as their main food source, the common milkweed, is being eradicated from landscape.
A further pressure on monarch populations occurs because trees the monarchs use for their wintering habitat in the forested mountains of Mexico are being logged. Adkins gave suggestions that can help save the monarch from extinction, such as using less herbicide and allowing milkweed to grow in flower beds and fencerows.
