In 1947, the newly formed Lions Club was searching for a signature annual fundraising event. Lion Bill Miller came up with a suggestion of staging a “Corn Festival” where corn on the cob would be sold to the general public. The reasoning was that, at the time, Southern California was filled with transplanted Midwesterners who would presumably flock in large numbers to purchase a good ear of corn on the cob. Although corn was never grown as a cash crop in La Habra, members of the Lions Club agreed that corn would be the festival hallmark.

The first Corn Festival in 1949 had over 4,000 attendees, and the top prize for the first raffle was a television set — complete with “rabbit ears.” Interestingly, the first raffle ticket tumbler was a cement mixer owned by building contractor Lowell Williams. The first festival grossed $15,000 with about half being profit. The food items offered at the first festival were hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, and of course, corn. All the food offerings were in temporary booths lined up along the north side of El Centro Park on the west end. There were no permanent structures at that time. The first event featured several attractions including a rolling pin throwing contest for the ladies, a greased pig catching contest, sack races, and a Bingo Tent. Bingo was popular for the first several years of the festival. Also featured was a big square dance held in the evening on the new basketball court, which had just been built by the Lions Club. The objective of the first Corn Festival was to raise funds to build a swimming pool. The original plan was to build a community pool in the southwest corner of the park. After the funds were raised, the plan changed, and the Lions Club built the Olympic size pool at La Habra High School.

The next year, in 1950, the club raffled away the first car, which was a 1950 Ford 2-door sedan from Burch Ford. This was the year of the first Corn Festival Queen Contest, and the winner was Linda Limley, daughter of Lion Glen Limley. La Habra resident and property developer, Tony Villelli, remembers listening to Lawrence Welk in the warm August nights and enjoying many of the early Grand Marshals— Spade Cooley, Spike Jones, and of course Lawrence Welk. “Weenie whistles were handed out by Little Oscar from the Oscar MeyerWiener Mobile was a popular entry in the Corn Festival Parade for many years,” according to Tony, who was a Lions Club member back then. The 1951 Corn Festival was chaired by Lowell Williams. Lowell had previously started the La Habra Volunteer Fire Department, which was comprised primarily of Lion members. During this festival, he did a fund raising challenge to the public to match his donation for money to buy the first resuscitator for the Fire Department.

The project was very successful, and soon afterward the Lions Club purchased both the original unit and a new Ford van for the Fire Department. In the 1960s, the Lions Club Corn Festival Queen contest was sanctioned by the City of La Habra and the Chamber of Commerce to become the “Miss La Habra Pageant.” Miss La Habra (Corn Festival Queen) and her court are one of the star attractions at the Corn Festival parade. They help sell raffle tickets for a new car and represent the Lions Club throughout the year.

As it turns out, the early Lions Club members had the right idea, and their one day event has grown into an entire weekend festival complete with rides, food booths, marketplace, a Saturday morning parade and a raffle drawing for a new car. Sorry, no greased pig at today’s Corn Festival. Bib-overalls, straw hats and red handkerchiefs have given way to t-shirts, shorts and flip flops.

The Lions Club motto is: "We serve. And on the first full weekend of August we serve corn."

The Orange County Register, former Lions District Governor Chuck Overbey, and Mel Williams contributed to this article.