The Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances is celebrating a longtime member and lifelong volunteer next week and is inviting everyone to celebrate with them.
In honour of Dr. Bob Lidkea, a fixture of both the Fort Frances community and local Kiwanis Club, the club will be holding a free memorial BBQ at the Fort Frances Lion’s Park next Wednesday, July 29, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Kiwanis Club will be preparing hot dogs and hamburgers for visitors and collecting old glasses and frames to help provide eye care for those living in third-world countries, where accessibility to prescription glasses can be prohibitively expensive.
Robin Wright, a longtime Kiwanian who volunteered alongside Lidkea in the club, said this BBQ will honour both the man and the impact he made over 70 years as part of the Kiwanis Club.
“Bob was a member for over 70 years, and if the history that we have is accurate, he hardly had time to settle in town before he joined,” Wright said.
“When he came to town, apparently within a day he had somebody, a businessman, invite him to this thing called the Kiwanis Club, and he liked what he saw and said ‘I’m in, I want to be a member.’ And he never stopped.”
Visitors to any Kiwanis Club event over the years will remember Lidkea on site, many times parked behind the club’s barbecue, busy grilling burgers, hot dogs or whatever else the event required, up to and including 800 steaks during a year when he volunteered at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
Lidkea was also quick to volunteer his time to other club initiatives, including more than his share of yard work and maintenance at the Sunny Cove Camp property when the Kiwanis Club was still the owner and operator. Wright recalled that Lidkea wanted to stay involved in the community and volunteering to the very end, indicative of a life spent in service to others.
“Even in the more recent days, his last event with me was at the Fort Frances Public Library; I think it was the Teddy Bear Picnic,” Wright said.
“Because of the weather, we had it at the Sports Centre. Bob came, and we said, ‘Bob, there’s your chair. Have a seat, just relax and enjoy the event.’ He didn’t have to do anything; he just wanted to sit there, and people would come by and talk to him and see how he was doing, thank him, whatever. He was a unique part of the club in terms of everything he did and the support he provided to everyone.”
Perhaps owing to his time spent behind the barbecue at so many Kiwanis events, the club thought a Memorial BBQ would be a fitting tribute to the man, and Wright said they were sure to discuss possible initiatives or events with Lidkea’s family to make sure that everyone was on the same page before moving forward.
Wright said there’s also a plan in the works to create another type of memorial for Dr. Bob, something that might look something like a fund for awards for individuals in the community who are in need, or who are doing important work. The details are still up in the air, but Wright said the idea was to find a way to keep Lidkea’s name in the community as a reminder for future generations of the impact he had on the community at large.
“Maybe I get a little emotional about a good friend, but he was just the person with the Kiwanis Club that, in part, kept us going,” Wright said.
“It didn’t matter, man, woman, young people; he was there to support us, and so we want to support him by doing something like this.”
