Denise Shaves and Lakeside Lions president Madeline Gonsalves fold clothing being given away Saturday at the Lakeside Lions Club. Schaves coordinated the event to help people and do something in memory of her grandfather, Clifford Morrison. - World Photo by Lou Sennick

Denise Chaves wiped her eyes as she talked about her grandfather.

He taught her a lot of things, like how to grow plants and fruit trees, but there was one thing that really stuck in her mind since his death 17 years ago.

“It was just because my grandfather was all upset,” the 68-year-old Saunders Lake resident recalled. “He had been visiting a friend in one of those little teeny trailers. The man was very cold.  He couldn’t afford to have his heat on. He was bundled up in a blanket. It bothered him so much, and it bothered me all these years.”

It was this memory that instilled a dream in Chaves to somehow provide clothing for people who could be in the same situation.

On Saturday, Chaves sat on a chair in the Lions Hall in Lakeside, the same town where her grandfather lived for most of his life. Around her were tables stacked with clothing, mostly donated by members of the community, waiting for area residents to come pick up what they might need.

It was Chaves’ first clothing giveaway, and she plans to continue the event on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the hall.

“The opportunity came up,” Chaves said. “I don’t even know how it happened. I talked to the (Lions) board, they approved us doing it once a month.”

Several people were coming in and out of the hall Saturday. A woman left with a garbage bag full of clothing for her family.

People had been lined up at 9:30 a.m. for the giveaway, Chaves said.

Rose Lancaster, a Lakeside resident since November, was looking through the clothes.

“I was looking for some rain pants because I do yard work and also I’m looking for some clothing for a lady at the senior center,” Lancaster said. “She’s needing some clothing very badly.”

Lancaster said that Lakeside folks try to take care of their own.

“In this day and age where work is hard to come by, there’s an awful lot of street people,” she said. “The Lions do a very good job. It’s a good thing.”

Madeline Gonsalves, Lakeside Lions president for the second year and a member for 24 years, said two people had come in that morning who couldn’t see well. She told them about the Lions’ eyeglasses program. She said last year 69 people received glasses through the program.

Every three months, the building also is used by the Women, Infants and Children federal nutritional program, which performs wellness checks on infants and young children and distributes vouchers for staples such as eggs and milk. Lions also offers a Christmas giveaway, in which toys are purchased with bingo game proceeds and distributed at the hall.

“This year, we gave away $1,600 worth of toys,” Gonsalves said, adding, “And the next day, we gave away 33 food boxes.”

“It was awesome. It was amazing what the community does,” Lions volunteer Richard Bridges said of the Christmas giveaway. He said that he loves to help at Lions’ functions, adding it also keeps him out of trouble.

Gonsalves said she makes a point to include Reedsport and Winchester Bay when advertising for events like the clothing giveaway.

“That’s what makes a good town ... working together,” she said.

Chaves’ husband, Bob, was making homemade Portuguese-style minestrone soup, with linguica. Everyone stopping by was offered a bowl on Saturday, along with hot drinks and snacks.

Chaves said eventually she would like to add nonperishable foods to the giveaway. This time around she had received a case of toothpaste.

As for the clothing donations, she said she has 26 thank-you notes to send out to community members.

Both she and Gonsalves said they will pick up donations if people call, or meet someone at the hall. Chaves said she will eventually need to find a new place to store the items.

“It’s become an obsession with me now,” Chaves said. “I’m not in great health. I think this is the reason I’m still around.”

Chaves said her grandparents moved to the coast long before she and her husband came here 34 years ago. To this day, she said, she still misses her grandfather.

“I’m proud of him,” she said. “He was my second best friend.”

She admitted her grandfather would be proud of her, too, for what she’s doing.

“I wanted to reach not only the homeless, but those people who are like Granddad’s friend,” Chaves said. “I want anyone to be able to feel the dignity of life, to feel that they’re not forgotten.”

People who would like to donate, or who need clothing or other supplies delivered to them for free, can call Denise Chaves at 759-4109 or Madeline Gonsalves at 759-2374.