Rotary Club of Stratford, RGHF's Rotary Global History Day "History of the Month" for March 2009

www.11october.org

For many years after the Winston-Salem Rotary Club was founded in 1915, there were no other Rotary clubs in Winston-Salem. In later years the presidents of the Downtown Rotary were subjected to cajolery by either the district governor or by their counterparts from other clubs in the district. This invariably happened at a district conference, where the prevailing question was "Why haven't you started another club in Winston-Salem?"

In June 1967, president-elect Jim Gray attended the district conference prepared to listen to any argument that would probably arise about forming a second club in Winston-Salem.

One of the keynote speakers, Marion Follin, was a former member of the Winston-Salem Club and a long time friend of Jim Gray. Mr Follin was now active at the district level as a liaison between clubs wishing to sponsor a new club and the district governor and Rotary International.

The talks at the conference were excellent. Jim Gray was inspired enough by these talks that before the trip home, he had decided to make the sponsorship of a new club in Winston-Salem the prime plank in his platform in his upcoming term as president, beginning July 1, 1967.

Mr. Gray's presidency got off to a smooth start and as he planned, he focused his attentions on organizing a new club. The first step was to make a survey of the community, therefore he appointed a committee to do this. Their first step was to define the territorial limits of the new club or area of Winston-Salem from which new members would be drawn. It was agreed that the new club should be assigned to the southwest part of the city, an area more specifically defined as starting at the intersection of Stratford and Country Club roads with Miller Street as the northern boundary, then proceeding along Stratford to Robinhood Road, then west on Robinhood to the county line. Using the same starting point, the southern boundary proceeded south along Miller Street to Hawthorne Road, west a short distance to Ebert Street, then south to the county line. An early suggestion to name the new club the West End club was dropped in favor of the Stratford Club, since Stratford Road bounded the territory.

The committee then started the enormous task of amassing the names of business and professional men who would be charter members. Prospective members either had to work or live in the territorial limit. Each time a name was put on the list a check was made against rosters of other civic clubs to avoid conflict. The Classification Committee reviewed and selected classifications and the Membership Committee considered all those proposed. Once the final list was complete, the Survey Committee met on Monday evening, February 19, 1968, at seven-thirty in the Robert E. Lee Hotel to make the final selection of the men they thought should be charter members. This list was presented to the board and with their approval, it was decided there should be a vote of the membership. A letter was sent to each member giving them the information about the new club and inviting them to contact certain people to inspect the list of classifications and individuals tentatively approved. The club could be approved by the Board of Directors and with District approval proceed, however it was decided not to proceed without a vote of approval by the members of the Winston-Salem Club.

The vote was taken at the March 19 meeting by means of secret printed ballot. The vote was approved overwhelmingly for the start of the new club. By that time, it was generally felt that Bob Carswell, president of Carswell Distributing Company, should be president of the new club. Bob was contacted and graciously accepted. From that day on prospective members were contacted and interviewed. Response was positive and excitement was building.

Two well respected members of the Winston-Salem club made recommendations earlier: Walser Blackwood suggesting his son Art, and R.B. Crawford, Jr., his son-in-law Dr. Frank "Buddy" Sohmer. Not only did those two accept, but P. Huber Hanes, Jr., who had been a member of Winston-Salem Rotary for twenty-eight years, decided to join the new club, since his offices were on Stratford Road. The Winston-Salem club hated to lose him but realized that he would be a boost to the fledgling club. It was decided then that if other members resigned to join the new club, they would add to its strength. One other member, "Rock" Wall joined Stratford Rotary a few weeks after its organization.

When the group numbered twenty, the minimum number for a club as suggested by Rotary International, it included top-flight people. The slate of officers for Stratford Rotary were Bob Carswell, president, and Clarence S. Mann, vice-president; Art Blackwood,Jr., secretary; and Joe Claud, treasurer. Directors were Nelson Kesell, Frank Sohmer, and John Taylor.
The charter members of Stratford Rotary and their classifications were: Lloyd H. Abbott, Jr., Land Development; W. Arthur Blackwood, Jr., Savings and Loan Association; Dr. Edwyn T. Bowen, Jr., Medicine-Pediatrics; Robert E. Carswell, Electrical Equipment and Supplies-Wholesale; Joseph G. Claud, Banking; Dr. Joseph B. Dudley, Medicine-Pathology; P. Huber Hanes, Jr., Charitable Foundations; Nelson W. Kessell, Textile Manufacturing; Douglas E. Leckie, Jr., Carbonated Beverage Bottling; Curtis E. Long, Advertising Service; Clarence S. Mann, Country Clubs; Frank B. Myers, Electrical Construction; Henry A. Nading, Real Estate Agency; Dr. M. Frank Sohmer, Jr., Medicine-Gastroenterology; Dr. Riley E. Spoon, Dentistry-General; John A. Taylor, Refined Oil Products-Distributing; Wilson R. Tennille, Sporting Good Retailing; Ray Whitley, Public Park Service; Ralph R. Wilkerson, Baking-Retailing; and William T. Wilson, Jr., Hardware-Retailing.

The charter for the Stratford Club was granted June 21, 1968, and Charter Night was at Forsyth Country Club on Wednesday, July 10, almost fifty-three years since October 23, 1915, when the Winston-Salem Rotary Club assembled at the same club. In 1990 Bob Carswell summarized the history of the Stratford Club.

On our charter night at Forsyth Country Club, Jim Gray extended a welcome from the Downtown Club. Eben Alexander, a past president, presented me with a diamond pin. Dale Gramley was our charter night speaker and gave one of his usual humorous, entertaining, and philosophical talks; a good time and an excellent meal was enjoyed by all. Clarence Mann, our club treasurer and manager of Forsyth Country Club, served a steak dinner with all the trimmings. There was also a little booze to lubricate the conversation.

We were off to a comfortable start. The Downtown Club arranged our programs for about sixty days. When our club was originally planned, Rotary International limited membership to a certain geographical area. In our instance, it was the west end of the city. We had lots of M.D.'s in the area because of Bowman Gray and Forsyth Hospital, practically no attorneys, engineers, manufacturers, etc. The month after we were chartered, this rule was changed so that the "city as a whole" was open for membership. That was a vital decision on the part of Rotary International. It gave the new club an opportunity to reach a variety of professions and business interests. This is a basic concept of Rotary.

Our original meeting place was the old Steak House (today the Rose and Thistle Restaurant on Lockland Avenue)[later torn down in realignment of Business I-40]. From there we moved to the new Steak House in Thruway Shopping Center. We then grew into the YMCA on West End Boulevard and then into the Sawtooth complex in 1984, our present location. {The club later moved to Forsyth Country Club when parking became a problem downtown.]

We felt that we needed about a hundred members to make it worthwhile for our speakers. I feel we've enjoyed worthwhile programs and speakers these twenty-two years. Our programs have generally been interesting. As of January 1, 1990, we have 128 members. Of the twenty charter members, six are still active. At the end of the first year, there were thirty-two active members. Of this number, thirteen remained active for twenty years. That's not a bad record considering the mobility of our population. At one of our first board meetings, Henry Nading suggested that as a club policy, we sell no brooms, cook no pancakes, hold no bingo parties, but assess each member a certain yearly sum to accumulate a kitty for benevolence. Our club has received recognition for its support of the Rotary Foundation and has often cooperated with the Downtown Club on its Rotary Foundation Educational Awards program. Two of the Stratford club's early members, Dr. Robert Sprinkle and Marcus Crotts, have been governors of District 7690 in 1976-77 and 1980-81, respectively. Mark Crotts has served Rotary International as the chairman of the World Fellowship Activities Committee, a member of the World Community Service Committee, and in 1978-80 was the chairman of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians. He and his wife Margo have attended seventeen consecutive International conventions.

The establishment of Stratford Rotary is an important part of the history of the Winston-Salem Rotary Club. Expansion within the city was never a mandate of Rotary International. The only mandate was that if a second club were started, members were expected to be men of the highest integrity who would exemplify the ideals of Rotary. Stratford Rotary Club fulfilled that expectation.

Stratford Rotary celebrated i's twenty-fifth anniversary on June 21, 1993. As of July 1, 1993, Stratford Rotary has a total of 162 members including active and senior active members. Of that number, three of the charter members are still active. They are Dr. Edwyn T. Bowen, Jr.; Dr. Joseph B. Dudley, and Douglas E. Leckie, Jr.. One charter member, Curtis E. Long, is now a senior active member.

Stratford Rotary still maintains its high ideals and standards for membership after twenty-five years. Their benevolence work continues to grow as does their membership.

Due to the current economics, company downsizing, and relocations, Stratford Rotary has experienced much attrition over the last 10 years. We have had as many as 173 members and as few as 142 members. We have lost some of our most faithful members. Presently, we have one remaining charter member, Douglas E. Leckie, Jr. Since the last writing, Curtis Long and Dr. Edwyn T. Bowen have retired from business and due to traveling are spending more time at other locations. They have resigned from Rotary.

As stated in earlier history, Stratford Rotary adopted as a club policy, “to sell no brooms, cook no pancakes, and hold no bingo parties, but to assess each member a yearly sum to accumulate a kitty for benevolence.” In the past the club was recognized for its support of the Rotary Foundation, but not much was done locally. We started to share our wealth in small quantities to lots of organizations. Our first major project was the Reforestation Project. Our own Ed Robbins stepped forward and spearheaded the project involving Stratford Rotary, Winston-Salem Rotary, Reynolda Rotary, and Winston-Salem Forsyth County Elementary Schools. That project started the trend for being a more active club and raising more money for our benevolence fund. For almost thirty years we assessed money and gave money. As the membership grew and became more diverse, ideas changed.

Thoughts of more directional giving evolved. The club decided it needed a mission statement. Stratford Rotary has always supported and still supports an exchange student and the Rotary Leadership Program. We contribute annually to Junior Achievement and the LEAD School program. Stratford Rotary realized it had its mission statement, “helping youth”. In 1999 we decided we would focus on our youth. In the spring of 2000 we took our first initiative. Stratford Rotary took all the remaining benevolence contributions after funding the above programs and awarded four $2,000 scholarships to high school seniors.

The next step was to plan how we could increase our benevolence giving so we could increase our work. At the beginning of Rotary year 2000-2001, President Elect Ed Robbins and member Loy McGill envisioned an auction to be held in conjunction with our Holiday Social. During the planning of the auction, Stratford Rotary was faced with another challenge, to help support the Children’s Museum. Stratford Rotary rose to both challenges. Our first auction was held December 7, 2000 and was very successful. Using our auction proceeds and our member assessments, Stratford Rotary gave $8,000 to the Children’s Museum and awarded five $2,000 scholarships to seniors and funded the existing programs.

During the past year Vice President Tom Eshelman, Jr. had been doing research on an international project. In keeping with our youth theme, Tom found a project for support of an orphanage in Africa that takes care of abandoned children with Aids. In December 2001, we held our second auction. Again, with proceeds and assessments, we gave the Children’s Museum $6,000, awarded five $2,500 scholarships, awarded $1,000 in enrichments scholarships to elementary school students who exhibit a talent for the arts, gave the Rotary Foundation $3,250 in matching donations to make 65 members sustaining members, gave $3,000 in support of an orphanage, for children with Aids, in Africa and supported LEAD, an exchange student, and Rotary Youth Camp.

This current Rotary year, 2002-2003, Stratford Rotary had a reverse raffle and raised $5,000 for our pledge Polio Eradication. We will also be giving our annual five $2,500.00 scholarships and supporting our other programs.

Thanks to Robert L. Sprinkle, III, Stratford Rotary chartered its first INTERACT Club this year at Forsyth Country Day School.

Stratford Rotary is currently working on a centennial project to be completed in the year 2005. We will be funding and helping to build a children’s play yard for the city of Winston-Salem.

Stratford Rotary celebrated its 35th birthday with a birthday party on May 22, 2003 at Old Town Club. We will be honoring the living charter members. We will also be honoring Ed Robbins who will be serving as Assistant District Governor for the Rotary year 2003-2004.

Over the years the membership has changed, people have come and gone, but Stratford Rotary still maintains its high ideals and standards and that will never change.

Stratford Genealogy

Chicago IL, February 23, 1905

New York NY, August 24, 1909

Philadelphia PA, January 13, 1911

Washington DC, July 1, 1912
(Philadelphia sponsored Washington DC and together they sponsored
Richmond VA)

Richmond VA, June 2, 1913

Roanoke VA, April 17, 1914
(Richmond sponsored Roanoke and together they sponsored Winston-Salem)

Winston-Salem NC, February 1, 1916

Stratford, June 21, 1968