Lions Club Annual BBQ

Monett Lions

Club tradition

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The Lions Club goes through so much sauce during their traditional chicken barbecue Independence Day weekend that they literally make it by the bucket. 

The Monett Lions Club has resolved to continue its traditional chicken barbecue this Independence Day weekend, July 3, instead of in the fall – a tradition it has upheld since 1956.

Lowell and Elizabeth Kelley are all smiles after the 2015 Lions Club Chicken Barbecue. The annual meal is more than a Fourth of July tradition, it’s also a fundraiser for the Lions Club’s charitable works in the community. 

In those early days, the Lions rallied together in October to host a massive cook-out for the community and raise money for their various charitable works, namely providing eyeglasses for those in need.

The second year of the event, 1957, the Lions built a massive barbecue pit at Monett’s South Park and ramped up their sales. That pit is used to this day.

However, one thing that changed is the date. In 1975, the club elected to move the cook-out from its autumn celebration to join in the festivities at South Park on Independence Day.

One could say the rest is history, but with a club as long-lived as the Lions, there may be just as much story as there is history behind the chicken dinner.

For instance, The Monett Times reported, without too much detail, that the second chicken barbecue hosted by the Lions “was much improved” in just a year’s time.

And the improvements keep on coming. Ellie Holle, who has been a steady hand at the barbecue for more than 30 years, said the club learned a valuable lesson not too long ago.

“If you’re going to cook for that many people, you’ve got to get the good charcoal,” Ellie said. “One year someone got some on sale, and it was a sale. That stuff wouldn’t heat for nothing. We had people lined up waiting. Now we get the name brand stuff.”

Grill Master Al Dohmen, a Monett City Councilman and long-time Lion, said it’s Kingsford charcoal under the grill these days.

Another valuable lesson that comes with 60-plus years of serving hot chicken to hundreds – even thousands – of residents is the timing. Holle said with that many chickens on the grill at one time, “you’ve got to be sure you get them off in time so you’re not burning them.”

Lion Steve Weiss explained that the Lions know how popular their barbecue chicken dinner is, and have made preparations to ensure they can meet the demand. Weiss said the massive barbecue pit at the park can have 640 chicken halves cooking at one time, and the club has become masters of timing, ensuring that there is a system in place to to get raw chicken cooked and cooked chicken plated at just the right time.

To make that happen, it takes nearly the whole club.

Grill Master Al explained that at any given time there are seven or eight Lions manning the grill, three or four looking after the club’s famous barbecue baked beans, two cooking sauce, three racking raw chickens to prep them for the grill and countless others plating and serving the meals.

And speaking of the sauce and beans – the famous sides served with the 1,400 to 1,500 meals the Lions cook each year, Lion Bob Davis pointed out that the club uses the same sauce for as long as anyone can remember.

“As far as I know, we’ve been using the original sauce,” Davis said. “I know we’ve been using it for over 20 years. We might have tweaked the original recipe a little bit, but not much.”

That sauce is used as both a glaze for the chicken, and in the barbecue beans the club serves and each year, club members can be seen transporting it from grill to bean pot via five-gallon buckets.

“The only complaint I’ve ever heard about the beans is that there aren’t enough beans,” Ralph Scott, a long-time Lion and retired Monett school superintendent said.

In his 90s, Lion Ralph has been an instrumental member of the club and the barbecue for as long as anyone can remember, and he knows first-hand how much the traditional cookout has changed – and stayed the same over the years.

Because the Fourth of July falls on a Sunday this year, the club will be holding its annual feast on Saturday, July 3 to ensure its members are able to attend their regular church services Sunday morning, something the club has to consider every few years.

“This year, like every once in a while, Fourth of July falls on Sunday and this club has consistently voted that we are not cooking chicken on Sunday,” Ralph said. “My grandkids have all hollered at me and want to know if we’re doing the barbecue chicken. We’re doing it. But we’ve never cooked on Sunday. We’re all dedicated Christians.”

Another change the club is making is to keep the drive-through option they instituted last year due to COVID-19. However, this year’s drive-through pick-up is a matter of convenience, not safety.

“We are going to keep it this year because everyone liked it last year,” Steve said. “They were able to stay in their cars and not have to wait in the heat.”

Though drive through will be an option, the club has voted to bring back its outdoor dining option, giving community members an opportunity to enjoy the park and the company of the Lions.

But that invitation comes with a warning: according to club members, if a jovial Lion extends a hand for a handshake at the event, it might be a good idea for community members to check that extended hand for barbecue sauce as at least one club member has been known to glaze more than the chicken during the event.

Tickets for the Lions Club Chicken Barbecue go on sale this month and will be available from any Lions Club member, at Freedom Bank, Bruner’s Pharmacy and at First State Bank.

As always, the meal will include a half chicken, the famous beans, a bag of chips and a beverage. Tickets sell out every year, so those hoping to get a taste of what the club is cooking up are encouraged to get their tickets as soon as possible.