Atkinson looks back on 50 years of service
By Steve Moyer
Nevada Daily Mail
When John Atkinson joined the Lion's Club in Nevada Eisenhower was president, Joe McCarthy was in the Senate, and rock and roll was in its infancy. He's seen a lot of changes, in his job and even in the Lion's Club.
Atkinson, a 32-year veteran of the Missouri Highway Patrol, retired in 1986 but has remained active in Lions since then.
Atkinson followed his father into the club and except for a year in Carthage has been a member of the Nevada club.
"My dad was a member and was even president of the club," Atkinson said. "When he retired I came in.
Atkinson said the changes in the patrol were remarkable and were mostly technology driven.
"When I first started out in the Patrol you had to call the local police department or sheriff's office to have them get in touch with Springfield. You were out there on your own. It was a big relief when they got the radio relays in place and we could call in directly," Atkinson said. "Now they have computers and cell phones, but all that came after I left."
Another change in the patrol is the number of people on the job.
"Now they have a lot more people," Atkinson said. "For a long time we had three people for two counties. I'd get calls all hours of the day and night. Now there's a bunch of them to handle the same territory."
While the big change in Lion's Clubs was the introduction of women to the club, Atkinson said he didn't think it changed the club's focus.
"That was big, but, really, the club hasn't changed all that much in all the years," Atkinson said. "All the people in the club are great. It really isn't that much different with the women, the mission of the club is the same."
Atkinson and his wife Loretta were married in August 1959 and have four children, two sons and two daughters. The sons followed their father's footsteps into law enforcement -- Jay is a sergeant with the Kansas City Police Department and Brian was once Vernon County Sheriff.