NEW ALEXANDRIA, Pennsylvania The scent of funnel cakes, grilled hot dogs and an ever-so-faint whiff of diesel fuel fill the air. The odd combination somehow works, adding to the excitement and anticipation as thousands of families and gearheads fill the stands surrounding the track of the local Lions Club Demolition Derby here in Westmoreland County.
From the clothing to the massive, oversized tires that serve as makeshift bumpers to protect the people in the stands from an errant jalopy, nearly everything and everyone is draped in red, white and blue.
Before you form a misguided stereotype, there is a lot more going on here than first meets the eye beginning with the organization that is running it. The Lions Club began in 1917 in Chicago, founded by business leader Melvin Jones. Jones believed that members of the business community, large and small, had an obligation to address the betterment of their local communities. Like other do-goody fraternal organizations of that era,
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