Tiddlywinks tournament is club’s last hurrah

The Saukville Lions Club will hold its annual Tiddlywinks tournament on Saturday, March 7, at Shakers Lounge.

It will be the 25th tournament and the last. The 28-year-old club, which has lost members through attrition and been unable to attract new members, plans to disband at the end of its fiscal year on June 30, founding member Mike Krocka said.

“It’s heartbreaking, but I understand” he said. “Younger people today weren’t raised like we were. The way I was brought up, you of course had to take care of your family, but you also had an obligation to help those in your community.”

The Saukville club was formed at the urging of Lions Clubs in Port Washington and Fredonia, which hosted a dinner and invited prospective members of a new club.

“I was the only one to attend,” Krocka said. “I was actually a little embarrassed because they had all this food.”

Nevertheless, enough members were recruited and in March 1998 the Saukville Lions Club was chartered by Lions International.

The club attracted village officials, business people and other community leaders, and its ranks grew to about 22 members.

That was the heyday of the club, which had enough members to host three major fundraisers a year and invest the proceeds in the community through dozens of projects big and small.

Krocka, who has served as the club’s president about six times and is now the first vice president, estimates the club invested $200,000 to $250,000 in Saukville and causes elsewhere during its 28 years.

It built a pavilion at Quade Park, planted more than 100 trees in the village, paid for playground equipment at Schowalter and Grady parks, contributed to the police and fire departments, built wheelchair ramps at the homes of people who couldn’t afford them, helped others who weren’t insured pay medical bills and, in keeping with one of the missions of Lions International, conducted vision screenings and fitted scores of children with eyeglasses.

And when a hurricane hit Puerto Rico, the home of the Saukville Lions Club’s sister club, it donated money for disaster relief.

But then the club’s ranks started shrinking, and for a number of years membership hovered around 15 people, Krocka said.

“A few of our members died. A few got sick,” he said. “Others retired and moved away.”

Those remaining knew that the future of the club hinged on recruiting new members, especially younger ones who had the energy needed to fulfill the club’s mission of helping the community.

“We tried to get new members,” Krocka said. “We advertised like crazy. We held dinners and invited people to come and enjoy a free meal and learn about the Lions. No one showed up.

“We got a lot of, ‘I have a family to raise. I don’t have time to join clubs.’ The younger generation just doesn’t seem to have the time or desire to volunteer in their community.”

Now the club is down to just a handful of members, and despite the desire to keep it going, the handwriting is on the wall, Krocka said.

“There’s five or six of us now, and although we’ve talked about continuing, the five of us are just not going to be able to organize the type of fundraisers we’re used to having,” he said.

When the club disbands at the end of June, the money from this next month’s Tiddlywinks tournament and the funds in its coffers will be distributed within the community, Krocka said.

The focus now is on making the 25th and last Saukville Lions Tiddlywinks tournament one of the best.

Teams of five players, all of whom must be 21 or older, can register using forms available at Shakers Lounge, 200 S. Railroad Street, Saukville, and Between the Greens, 3315 Highway I in the Town of Saukville.

The single elimination tournament, which guarantees a minimum of two games for each team, is open to the first 32 teams to register.

Team sign-in opens at 11 a.m. and games begin at noon.

The entry fee is $50.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the first and second-place teams as well as the winner of the consolation bracket. Commemorative souvenirs will be presented to winners.

The event will also include a meat raffle, food and DJ Dan Party Rocker. Spectators are welcome.

The club is also bringing back some of the favorite aspects of its earlier tournaments, including the best dressed award.

“We also used to have a drinking contest, but we won’t be bringing that back,” Krocka said. “We don’t want to encourage drinking and driving.”

For more information, email skvllions@gmail.com.