Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative Photos

When you need to celebrate, what is the best way? A parade of course. The Petrolia Lions Club had a good reason to hold a parade as it marked its 90th anniversary. Community groups such as Parents for Parks, Lambton Young Theatre Players and the neighbouring Wyoming Lions came out to celebrate Saturday. The club held its first meeting in the dining room of the Fletcher Hotel on Nov. 24, 1932. It then officially received its charter at a banquet on Dec. 5 with 32 members. Given that the club was founded during the depths of the Depression, one of its first efforts was to donate 42 barrels of milk to the undernourished children of Petrolia. The Lions were also involved in establishing Petrolia’s first public library in 1934.