Page 11 - 1994 Plymouth Rotary Annual Report

PLYMOUTH ROTARY CLUB- HISTORY AND HIGHLIGHTS

On February 23, 1905, at the invitation of Paul Harris, an attorney, four men met
in an office in the Unity Building in Chicago. The other men were Silvester
Schiele, a coal dealer, Gustavas Loehr, a mining engineer, and Hiram Shorey, a
merchant tailor. It was agreed that evening that these men would organize a club
which would be based on the idea that Harris had been developing for the past five
years - that men in business could be and should be personal friends.

The following day, Harris interested Harry Ruggles, a printer, in the proposed club.
He in turn interested Will Jenson, a real estate dealer. Within a short time the club
organization was completed at a meeting in Schiele's office, with the election of
Schiele as President. Paul Harris declined any office in the new club and did not
become its president until two years later.
At one of the early meetings, several names were suggested for the new organiza-
tion. Adopted was Paul Harris' suggestion, "Rotary", which was prompted by the
original plan of the Club members to meet in rotation at their various places of
business. Harry Ruggles developed the idea of community singing in the club, and
Paul Harris frequently suggested original stunts to enliven the meetings.

The membership of the new club grew rapidly. Its novelty was attractive and those
who joined the club found its friendship and fellowship a tonic that stimulated them
to better endeavors in their business, social and community relationships.
The Paul Harris of Plymouth was Superintendent of Schools, George A. Smith. On
the night of March 6, 1924, Smith and several Plymouth businessmen met with Dr.
Edward Lee of the Wayne Rotary Club to learn more about Rotary. They decided
to form a Rotary club under the sponsorship of the Wayne Club. Twenty-three men
signed up and four days later, March 10, 1924, Rotary International accepted their
application. District 18 Governor Paul King presented the charter to the club on
April 19, 1924.
George Smith was chosen as the first president of the Plymouth Rotary Club. The
first meetings were held in the basement of the Penniman-Allen building, then
moved to the old Masonic Club dining room, in the new Masonic Temple, then to
the auditorium of the high school and then to the Lutheran Church where it met
weekly until the Mayflower Hotel was completed in 1927. In 1967 meetings were
moved across the street to the newly refurbished Meeting House when it was
apparent the club had outgrown space available in the hotel. As an aside, the same
chef, Curtis Langdon prepared the meals from the time the hotel opened until well
after the move to the Meeting house, more than 40 years.
The connection to the hotel is not accidental. A real opportunity for community
service was presented when a movement was started to build a community hotel in