First graders at Meadowlark Elementary in Chinook were pretty excited when Lion Richard Cronk walked in with a box of miniature American flags. They knew the drill, he was going to talk about the American flag, then give them each one of the miniature American flags. Several of the first graders had older siblings who had come home with a flag in prior years.

Lion Cronk asked the kids to stand and pledge allegiance to the flag. It was pretty clear this was not their first time saying the pledge. That went very well. Then the discussion turned to the history of the flags and what each star represents as well as the history behind the thirteen stripes. The students knew their basic flag history.

Then the students were challenged to identify locations of flags from pictures taken around Chinook. There was a concern on the part of the Lion who made the photos that he might not have given enough hints in the photos for the kids to figure out the locations. Not a problem...the kids jumped right on identifying the locations with comments like, "At the place across the street from my nanna," and for the flag in front of the courthouse, "Behind the building in front of the 4H room." Ahh, the descriptions of geographical points in first grader lingo.

One photo did throw them a bit, a picture of a flag beside a two story house on Indiana Street. One little guy said, "It's the flag at the White House." Hmmm, technically I guess he was right but likely had the wrong 'white house' in mind.

Cronk explained the work of the Chinook Lions Club, explaing that all the funds to support local projects are funded by pronto pup sales at the fair each year. When asked how many had ever tasted a pronto pup, well over half the students, combined in to one classroom for this presentation, raised their hands. And many of them knew about the youth projects supported by the Lions Club. Several said they had participated in the recent presentation of the Missoula Children's Theatre, one of the local projects the club helps fund.

One interesting thing about this year's kindergarten classes is the ratio of boys to girls. Teacher Mrs. Sheena Barber has three girls and seven boys. Mrs. Tammy Edwards, the other first grade teacher, has 10 boys...no girls. The three girls in Mrs. Barber's classroom all sat together. One commented, "We have a girls club in our classroom."

Mrs. Edwards, who has been teaching for several years, said she had never had such lopsided representation of boys or girls in a class before. She commented, "Surrounded by ten boys all day is a bit being at home with my family. I guess I was the right girl for the task." Mrs. Edwards has a husband and three boys of her own and added, "Even the dog at home is a male."

The Chinook Lions Club was organized in 1925. It's the third oldest Lions club in Montana. The club supports a number of youth activities including sponsoring a swim team each summer, helping support the Missoula Children's Theatre annual production, providing scholarships to graduating CHS seniors and supporting the annual trip for CHS students to visit Washington, DC. The local club also provides swim passes for kids who need a little help and manages the upkeep of Ensign Sweet Park and the Girl Scout House.

Lion Richard Cronk, far left in photo, enjoys a photo op with the first graders at Meadowlark Elementary on Presidents Day last week. The students had just finished a program about the American flag and each was presented with a miniature desk top flag. Cronk said the club has been giving the flags to first graders for at least 40 years.

The club finances the community youth programs through pronto pup sales at the Blaine County Fair each summer. Members of various youth groups, who benefit from support from the Lions, and their parents also help in the booth at the fair. Seeing the thrill the kids have when they receive their flag makes all the hot days at the fair worth it. Thanks to all who helped at the pronto pup stand to support the annual flag giveaway on Presidents Day.