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| 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.
