LAPS
Below is a conversation with Gloria Lewis about her late husband, Richard Lewis, and the creation of LAPS:
LAPS all started during the summer of 1972 when my daughter Karen came home from college one summer vacation and brought with her a cat. Believe it or not, a few girls in her dorm adopted this stray cat and when the summer vacation came around, no one wanted to take it home. They just left the cat in the dorm. My daughter was furious with the girls and took pity on the small cat that was left with a bowl of food and some water. Karen brought the cat home and we all fell in love with the adorable cat, particularly Richard, who loved all kinds of animals. We already had two dogs.
Some friends of ours found two stray cats and asked if we would take care of them and so it grew. Word quickly spread that Richard Lewis loved cats and would take care of all strays. People began to drop off cats on our property with notes to please take care of the poor strays. We could not keep taking the growing number of cats into our house. Consequently, Richard built a shed in our back yard because we had over an acre of property. Eventually a friend of his, a talented carpenter, helped to build several more sheds. Each shed had levels of shelves with cushions on them resembling bunk beds for the cats.
We needed help taking care of the cats, which now numbered 20 to 30. We called for volunteers and many compassionate people came to help care for the cats. Richard had a plumber install water in a few of the sheds, and we had electric heaters placed in the sheds for the cold weather and fans for the summer months.
We canvassed the local food stores for donations and received food and litter. We bought litter boxes and several bowls, toys, etc. We had bake sales to raise money, we started a Bingo game, we posted pictures of some of the cats at the mall for people to see, and we received donations and several cats were adopted. We arranged for a local vet to help us care for the cats, the number now up to 70. All the volunteers referred to the whole project as the Lewis Animal Protection Society, thus the acronym LAPS. However, Richard did not want his name attached to the endeavor. He hoped the Society would flourish for a long time and his name would mean nothing. Everyone liked the acronym LAPS so he suggested Lycoming Animal Protection Society, thus keeping LAPS. Richard applied for a license to become a non-profit organization, which helped with our expenses and donations.
The shelter located behind our house continued on for many years until Richard developed emphysema and doctors told him he had to move south, which meant selling our house and all the accommodations for the cats. Thankfully we had loyal volunteers who helped us move the entire operations to a vacant store, then Town and Country located above Newberry, in time for the massive relocation.
LAPS was all a labor of love for Richard. He knew the names of every cat and was out in the "cat houses" all the time. A great deal of money and love was put into the project and he was very happy to know that volunteers took over and continued the life of LAPS, caring for and loving the cats as much as he did.
Gloria Lewis
