The Great Falls Lions Club is making preparations for its annual crab feast at the fire station. The chairman of the feast, Jay Furick, says that judging by the number of advance ticket sales for the event, it’s poised to be one of the most successful yet. The Lions Club has been active in Great Falls for 45 years.
“Last year we went through 35 bushels of crabs. We understand the crabs this year are even bigger than they were last year,” said Furick. The group works with an Eastern Shore distributor, who trucks in bushels of live, fresh crabs that are cooked on-site as needed.
“We set up long rows of tables in the firehouse. People sit down, and we bring them the crabs. As much as they can eat. People can keep eating until they bust,” said Furick. “There’s one couple that goes every year. They are an elderly couple, and they are there at 1 when we start and there at 5 [when the event ends],” said Furick.
“The crabs are really good, and the price is great. You can eat and eat,” said Susan Adams, who attended the crab feast last year. “It’s one of the nice little, hometown things about Great Falls. Everyone knows about the crab feast. You get to see neighbors and friends and enjoy piping hot crabs,” Adams said.
Included in the admission price is all-you-can-eat crabs, hot dogs, corn on the cob, cole slaw, soda and ice tea. Cold beer and Thelma’s ice cream are available during the event for a small fee. New this year will be portable bathrooms at the firehouse. There were long lines in the past, and the fire station has a failing septic system that is taxed by overuse.
“We’re going to have a banner year this time,” said Carleton Ruthling, the president of the Great Falls Lions Club. Last year 300 Great Falls residents turned out for the crab feast. According to Ruthling, their patronage of the annual event enabled the Lions Club to put several thousand dollars into its charities programs.
Ruthling said the crab feast is one of the most important fund-raisers for the Lions Club because it enables it to bring social programs to the residents during the year. “Within the Lions Club, we are dedicated to sight and hearing projects internationally,” said Furick. The Lions Club, among other things, sponsors a mobile eye and hearing testing unit that allows individuals in a community to have these critical senses checked at no cost. “We give them a referral if we find anything. It’s not a medical exam, it’s a screening,” Furick said.
The group also collects used eyeglasses and hearing aids to donate to the underprivileged.
The Great Falls Lions Club has also used monies raised through its fund-raising to purchase playground equipment at Turner Farm. The group is able to support a variety of causes because “we have no overhead expenses in our fund-raising,” said Furick.
Recently the group awarded a $3,000 scholarship to Kimberly Rose Jappell of Great Falls. Her older sister died after being infected with the HIV virus during a blood transfusion. Since then, Jappell has dedicated herself to serving and educating other people about the impact of HIV and AIDS. She graduated from Langley High School last year and will be applying her scholarship to Shippensburg University this fall, where she will be a freshman.
The scholarship is in memory of two Lions Club members, Vernon Leigh and Bill Poole. Both were from Great Falls.
Vernon Leigh was a charter member of the Great Falls Lions. He was a dairyman, whose modest property on Route 7 is now the site of Shouse Village. According to Ruthling, for many years Leigh secretly helped people in the community when they were in dire need. He asked only that the people he aided not tell anyone what he had done for them. Only after his death did people come forward to tell of his philanthropic generosity.
When Poole died recently, he bequeathed funds to the Lions Club to further the scholarship program. The scholarship is intended to encourage young people to emulate the humble generosity displayed by Leigh.
“This is an example of what we do with the funds we raise at the crab feast and during our citrus sales,” said Furick.
The crab feast is being held on Sept. 11 from 1-5 p.m. at the Great Falls Firehouse on Georgetown Pike. Tickets for adults are $28 and for kids 12 and under, $18. Ticket prices go up by $2 at the door on the day of the event. A yellow flier with the event’s details has been mailed to all residents.