- Elmira Star-Gazette -
Rotarians donate marble lions
Beasts named by students
By Jeff Murray • jdmurray@gannett.com • Staff Writer • July 13, 2009

our years ago, the Chemung Sunrise Rotary Club teamed with its Elmira counterpart to restore the archway at the entrance to Eldridge Park.To help celebrate its own 20th anniversary, Chemung Sunrise added the finishing touch Sunday.

Please click here for enlargement - Eldridge Park, Elmira NYClub members raised more than $5,000 to purchase and ship two marble statues - each depicting a lion and cub - from Italy. The statues are about 6 feet tall and weigh 2,400 pound apiece.

Club members unveiled the statues during a ceremony Sunday afternoon at Eldridge Park. They were joined by city officials, members of the Eldridge Park Conservancy, and students from Parley Coburn Elementary School, who were "adopted" by Rotary members for various projects.

"This is our 20th anniversary, and we're taking this whole year and celebrating. We wanted to give a gift to the community," said Ginny Campbell, president of Chemung Sunrise Rotary Club. "We did the archway with the Elmira Rotary Club, and we thought finishing it off with the lions would be great.

"This park has been redeveloped so beautifully. Our club focuses on children and youth. This seems to fit under what we wanted to do," she said. "We love this park. It's just great to have this in our community."

Chemung Sunrise Rotary Club members regularly read to Parley Coburn students and take part in other school projects. A contest was held at the school to name the lions, and the children came up with Victorian Pride and Twain's Pride for the adult lions, and Clemens and Olivia for the cubs.

Three of the students who came up with the winning names took the wraps off one of the lions during Sunday's ceremony. City Council member Mark Hitchcock, representing Mayor John Tonello, read a proclamation declaring Sunday as Chemung Sunrise Rotary Day.

The club has 35 active members and raised most of the cost of the lion statues through member donations, with little outside fundraising, Campbell said.

The lion project is just the latest of many contributions Chemung Sunrise Rotary Club has made to Eldridge Park, said Bob Lyon, founder of the Eldridge Park Carousel Preservation Society and the Eldridge Park Conservancy.

"Rotary has been a huge help. They took it upon themselves to raise $30,000 to build the arch out front," Lyon said.

"When I approached (conservancy treasurer) Peter Wallin last year, I said 'We really haven't finished this.' I was able to locate two Italian lions. We're very proud to place them today," he said.

"Rotary has done many, many projects throughout the park."