A Piece of Local History
In May of 1953, the West Long Branch Lions Club, after lengthy consideration, decided to initiate and sponsor a community center in West Long Branch.
After thorough investigation and study of all of the problems involved, the Lions Club in August, 1953, purchased the old Norwood Country Club on Locust Avenue with about three acres of ground. During August, September and October of that year the entire membership of the club worked long and arduous hours in rehabilitating the old building which had lain idle for some ten years.
The work feverishly progressed and on October 16th it was possible to hold the first public function - a barn dance - in the new Community Center. Your Community Center became an accomplished feat.
From the very outset, the Lions Club viewed the entire project as something belonging to the whole community. All efforts were directed to the end that it would actually be a community wide affair. After the barn dance, all haste was made to set up a permanent organization and turn over the project to it. On November 11, 1953, the Lions Club organized and formally chartered the West Long Branch Community Center, Inc., on a broad community bases with community-wide responsibility.
As soon as the new corporation was formally organized, the Lions Club conveyed to it the Community Center property and turned over the entire project on March 24, 1954.
The West Long Branch Community Center, Inc. is a non-profit corporation completely dedicated to the development and maintenance of a community center for the people of West Long Branch. It is governed by a Board of Trustees representative of the public at large. The Community Center property is restricted to community center use and if used for any other purpose will revert to the Borough of West Long Branch as public land.
The Center is a separate entity and is not financially supported by the borough.