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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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Phelps Rotary Club
By Don Tiffany
The Rotary Club was started by Paul P. Harris in 1905. Harris was born in 1868 in Racine, Wisconsin but grew up on his paternal grandparents farm in Vermont.
He attended the university of Vermont from 1885-1887, later Princeton University and finally received his law degree from the State University of Iowa in 1891. After earning his law degree Harris spent the next five years in "vagabondage". He went fishing and hunting in Idaho, was a free-lance reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, worked on fruit farms in Southern California, hiked in Yosemite Valley and taught at Los Angeles Business College. He acted in a theater company in Denver, was a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, was a cowboy and held a variety of jobs in Kentucky, Florida and Louisiana. He was a salesman, hotel night clerk, writer and a cattleman on a livestock ship.
He finally settled in Chicago in 1896 and began practicing law. On the evening of February 23, 1905 Paul Harris invited three of his friends and clients, Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor and Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer, to a meeting at Loehr's business office. There Harris presented his idea of a club for professionals meeting to promote fellowship and a friendly spirit such as he had known growing up in rural Vermont.
These men, with others, continued to meet. They rotated their meeting places thus giving the name "Rotary Club" to their organization. By the end of the year the club had grown to 30 members. The original club emblem was a wagon wheel design. It was agreed that, due to the growing membership, rather than assembling in offices, the meetings would be held in hotels and/or restaurants.
The first service project of the Chicago Rotary Club was the donation of a horse to a poor preacher who could not afford to replace his horse that had died. Through the efforts of the Club the preacher was able to continue to visit his churches and parishioners.
In just 5 years a national convention was held where Paul P. Harris was elected the first president of the National Association of Rotary Clubs.
"Service Above Self" is the Rotary Club's motto along with, "He Profits Most Who Serves Best". The "4-Way Test" is a succinct, ethical guide and the philosophy of the Rotary Club. 1) Is it the TRUTH? 2) Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3) Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
A little over 25 years later the idea of a Rotary Club in Phelps was planted in the mind of Bob Burnett. In 1937 Bob was making a sales call at the Bill Dunham farm just north of Waterloo. Bill was the president of the Waterloo Rotary Club at the time and told Bob the benefits of being a Rotarian. Bob spent the next few months talking about the advantages of having a club in Phelps. Bill Whitson, Dr. Clifford Kenfield and Jim Clark, along with Bob, attended a Rotary meeting in Waterloo. The philosophy and motto were explained to these men and also questions were answered about programs, meeting requirements and how a diverse group of business and professional men could come together and do good things for the community.
A meeting was held at the Phelps Hotel in January 1938 where men from other nearby Rotary Clubs explained what Rotary had accomplished in their towns. Rotarians Hovey Griswold from Clifton Springs, Walt Caves and Rev. Walker from Newark and Bill Dunham and Earl Murray from Waterloo told of the benefits of membership and the good work being done by their Rotary Clubs.
The first meeting of the provisional Phelps Club was held at the Jesse Canfield home, 61 West Main St. in Phelps under the guidance of the Waterloo Club on February 23, 1938. The first lesson learned was the dropping of titles such as Mr., Dr. or Rev. and calling each other by their first names. The first club activity was the planning of Charter Night. The Phelps club received their charter on March 14, 1938 as Club #4630.
April 20, 1938 was Charter Night. 162 visiting Rotarians from 20 clubs attended the dinner and ceremonies held at the Phelps Masonic Hall (earlier known as Gibson Hall). Greetings were also received from 10 foreign clubs and 35 in the United States. The most significant gifts received that night were the gavel and bell. The District Governor Phil Huyck was from Kingston, Ontario, presented a red cedar gavel to the club. The wood from this gavel was taken from a timber from Old Fort Henry just outside Kingston, Ontario and symbolized international brotherhood and understanding. The bell was a gift from the sponsoring club from Waterloo. There were 17 men inducted into the new Phelps Rotary Club that night. Bob Burnett was elected the first president. The other charter members were: Bill Whitson, Larry Hatch, Oliver Crothers, Maynard Linquest, Clifford Kenfield, Earle Warner, Phil Landers, Jack Dyke, Fred Broshard, Linford Croll, Ralph Petty, Donald Pulver, Frank Regan, Leo Goldsworthy, Grove Nagel and Kenneth West.
During the first year each member spoke about his vocation and so became better acquainted with one another. Other new members taken in that year were: Frank Filiatreau, Charles Peck, J.Lewis Salisbury, Dana Campbell, Cliff Brew, Clyde Rosekrans, Ray DeWeaver, Jim Clark, Ted Davey, Gail Huston and Pat Penta. Dr. W.A. Howe was named an honorary member. The Phelps Club's first community project was placing flower boxes on the lampposts in the business district. The Phelps Rotary Club began sponsoring Boy Scout Troop #46 on May 17, 1939 and has continued to do so to the present day - 65 years!
The club continued to meet a Jesse Canfield's "tea room" at 61 West Main Street until 1942 when they changed their meeting place to the Phelps Hotel. Rotary meetings were held there from 1942 through 1971. For the next 20 years (1971-1991) they met in a room at the United Church of Phelps and then moved back to the Phelps Hotel. The Blue Ribbon Restaurant has been the location of the club's meetings since 1996 to the present day. Occasionally meetings were held in the York Inn in Unionville.
The Phelps Rotary Club has led and assisted in many community projects since it was formed. The flower boxes and Boy Scouts have already been mentioned. Some of the many projects sponsored, assisted and/or promoted by the club: staffing of the Civil Defense Observation Post and sponsoring Victory Gardens during WWII, a skating rink on the tennis courts at the Phelps Central School, a school safety patrol, helped start the Village recycling center, a bike safety program, a community Halloween party, a well-attended and very popular community fair held at the Phelps Central School bus garage from 1941 through 1969. Projects in 2004 alone include a bike rodeo, blood drive, Community Center promotion, Fall Harvest festival, Sauerkraut Festival participation and Margaret Facer's Toy Box.
The many donations made to the Rotary Foundation by Phelps club members over the years has resulted in many of them being named Paul Harris Fellows - Alfred Adams, Edith Adams, Gertrude Bennett, Henry Bennett, William Boyd, John Britting, Larry Casey, Jim Cheney, Margaret Facer, Joan Griswold, Bob Griswold, Georgia Hartmann, Wilbur Hartmann, Gerald Hesbon, Mary Hesbon, Don Jones, Pat Jones, Betty Mussack, Chrissie Nagel, Grove Nagel, Don Pulver, Bob Quigley, Dave Roll, Clayton Ruggles, J.Lewis Salisbury, John L. Salisbury, Bob Salisbury, Helen Walker, Nathan Walker.
A significant change occurred in 1987 when women were first accepted as members. May Kay Bolan (president, 1997-1998), a Midlakes administrator was the first woman member of the Phelps Rotary Club. She was inducted on November 18th of that year. Margaret Facer served as the first female president in 1994-95. Other women have ably filled this office since that time - Gerry VerStraete, Theresa Dorgan, Shirley Crosby and Aleta Williamson. However changing times, declining enrollment, smaller attendance and other factors came together to make the Phelps Rotary Club decide to disband.
The last charter member of the Phelps Rotary Club, Don Pulver (president, 1949-50), died in 2003.
The final meeting was held at the Phelps Hotel on November 2, 2004. The district Governor, Charles H. Clemens and his wife, Jan attended. Dist. Gov. Clemens mad a few remarks about the sad occasion. Then, after presenting checks to the Phelps Community Library, Phelps Historical Society, troop #46, BSA and the new Phelps Community Center, president Erica Blowers rang the same bell presented to the club in 1938 with the same 1938 red cedar gavel and closed the last meeting of the Phelps Rotary Club. President Bowers then presented the bell and gavel to the Phelps Historical Society to keep as part of the history of the Phelps Community they had so proudly served for the past 66 years.
It is ironic that the Phelps Rotary Club is disbanding just prior to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the first Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905.
Many thanks to Larry Casey, Grove Nagel, Erica Blowers, John Britting and other members of the Phelps Rotary Club. [d.t.]
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