Page 8 - 2002 Plymouth Rotary State of the Club

PLYMOUTH ROTARY CLUB - HISTORY & HIGHLIGHTS

On February 23, 1905, Paul Harris, an attorney, and four other men
met in Chicago to organize a club based on an idea Harris had been developing
for the past five years-that men in business could be and should be personal
friends. At Paul Harris' suggestion, the name "Rotary" was chosen, which was
prompted by the plan of the Club members to meet in rotation at their various
places of business. Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer, was elected its first President.
Paul Harris declined any office in the new club and he did not become its presi-
dent until two years later.
The Paul Harris of Plymouth was Superintendent of Schools, George A.
Smith. On the night of March 6, 1924, Smith and several Plymouth business-
men met with the Wayne Rotary Club to learn more about Rotary and decided
to form a club. Twenty-three men signed up and on March 10, 1924, Rotary
International accepted their application. District 18 Governor Paul King pre-
sented the charter to the club on April 19, 1924.
George Smith was chosen as the first president of the Plymouth Rotary
Club. Meetings were held in the basement of the Penniman-Allen building,
then moved to the Masonic Temple, then to the auditorium of the high school
and then to the Lutheran Church. With the help of the Plymouth Rotary Club,
the Mayflower Hotel was completed in 1927 and became the clubs meeting
place for over 70 years. In 1999 the club moved to its current home in the
Plymouth Cultural Center.
In 1925 our weekly publication, The Broadcaster, was started. The
Broadcaster has become our printed club history, detailing 77 years of club meet-
ings. In 1935 dub president Father Frank Lefevre came up with the idea of
making a member of the senior class at the high school a Junior Rotarian, a
custom that continues today. This junior membership idea has been adopted by
a large number of service clubs throughout the nation.
Through the leadership of George A. Smith, the club took over and
financed a student loan fund, which had been started in the schools. The stu-
dent loan fund was enlarged and incorporated into the Plymouth Rotary Foun-
dation. In addition to the loans, we now provide both vocational and academic
scholarships in addition to supporting a variety of needs in the community. In
1947 Rotary members held a fund raising campaign to light the high school
football field and in 1964 we made another major contribution to modernize
the system. In the 80's we furnished the timing systems used by the high school
swim teams. In 1963 we donated two kidney machines to St. Marys hospital as
th
part of our 50 anniversary.
One of the clubs early activities was that of making a house-to-house
canvass of this area to find crippled children and arrange for their proper care.
This program started a county and state organization that is still active today.
That beginning was followed by a project in 1956-57 when we joined with the