Thursday, February 2, 2017

Arizona monument honors Melvin Jones, founder of Lions Club


Melvin Jones memorial
Seemingly out in the middle of nowhere on a highway through rural Arizona is a stunningly simple stone obelisk that reaches to the sky.



The obelisk is a memorial dedicated to Melvin Jones, the man who founded Lions Club. It is located along Highway 70 at Fort Thomas, the place where Jones was born in 1879. His father was an Army officer stationed at the fort and involved in fighting Indians. Fort Thomas is located between Globe and Safford.



In 1917, Jones, then a Chicago insurance agent, would found the Lions Club, a civic organization that spread worldwide with its major charter being sight conservation.



The Fort Thomas spire in his honor is 50 feet high. Memorial slabs flank the front. Behind them are more memorial tablets bearing the names of Lions Club members.