[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 68 (Thursday, April 18, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TEXAS LIONS CAMP

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. CHIP ROY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2024

  Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the seventy-fifth 
anniversary of the Texas Lions Camp in Kerr County.
  The Texas Lions Camp was incorporated as a 501(c)3 by the State of 
Texas on April 4, 1949. The polio epidemic was rampant during this 
time, and the Texas Lions were looking for ways to give children 
affected by polio a place where they could experience some normalcy in 
their lives. Congress passed two resolutions that authorized the sale 
of excess federal land surrounding the Kerrville Veterans Hospital. One 
of my predecessors, Congressman Ovie Clark Fisher, was instrumental in 
the passage of this legislation. Then-Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson was 
also an early supporter of Texas Lions Camp. Mr. Bill Mickelsen, a Lion 
from Kerrville, traveled tirelessly to Washington, DC to advocate for 
the ``Texas Lions League for Crippled Children'' camp in Texas. Mr. 
Mickelsen and his friend J.C. ``Buddy'' Murray created a detailed scale 
model of the Camp and eventually constructed the buildings.
  However, one of the strings attached to the sale of five hundred and 
four acres was that the Lions had to raise $100,000 within six months 
to guarantee construction. In pursuit of these dollars, the Lions 
established their ``life membership status.'' A Lion was Governor of 
Texas at the time, Allan Shivers. He broadcasted over the radio a call 
for donations to the Camp. Mr. Jack Wiech served as the first president 
of Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville. He went on a speaking tour across the 
State to drum up donations. As the six-month deadline loomed, the Lions 
were still $20,000 short of their goal. Mr. Sealy McCreless of San 
Antonio wrote a check that pushed the Lions over their goal for the 
Camp fundraiser. The next step was to begin construction and raise 
$150,000 to cover those costs. The Lions hit the road again for a 
second fundraising campaign.
  Mr. Herb Petry, the Lions Clubs International president at the time, 
said the Camp for special needs children ``is the best example of 
Lionism in action.'' Mr. Petry went on to say that ``what is being done 
in Kerrville under the banner of Texas Lionism must be pleasing in the 
sight of Him Who first taught us to serve, to be our brother's keeper, 
and to put the Golden Rule into practice.''
  Mr. Mickelsen worked tirelessly for fifteen years to construct the 
Texas Lions Camp based on his original small-scale model. Famous 
Kerrville names, including Hal Peterson and Howard Butt of the HEB 
Grocery Company, donated resources to round out the construction and 
supplies for Camp.
  Over the years, the Camp adapted to allow other special-needs 
children to participate. Children living with blindness, hearing and 
speaking disorders, and various crippled limbs all enjoyed Texas Lions 
Camp together. This defied the original prognostications of 
psychologists in the 1950s, who believed children with varying 
disabilities could not get along. However, they learned to help each 
other and combine their strengths to thrive. Several hundred adult 
blind were also trained at the Camp through a contract with the State 
of Texas for a couple decades into the 1980s.
  Every summer, children with physical handicaps such as diabetes, down 
syndrome, polio, missing limbs, blindness, and other disabilities are 
accommodated every year at a weeklong camp session at no cost to their 
families. Over 82,000 children have attended Texas Lions Camp since it 
opened in 1949. The Camp motto is ``All Can Do!'' Campers experience a 
zip line, climbing wall, ropes course, fishing, boating, swimming, 
archery, arts and crafts, miniature golf, and much more. Therapeutic 
horseback riding was added in the 1980s and became a favorite pastime 
for campers. A more recent addition is the family camping experience, 
allowing the families of kids with special needs to experience Texas 
Lions Camp.
  On a more personal note, my father, Don Roy, attended the Lions Camp 
in Kerrville when he was recovering from Polio in the 1950s, and still 
talks about the positive impact it had on him and the other children. I 
am grateful to the eight hundred Texas Lions Clubs International that 
work tirelessly to provide funds for children with special needs to 
attend Texas Lions Camp.