[The Rotarian, March, 1916]

Rotarian Pidgeon, Preacher,
Golfer, Motorist, Hunter, Friend

"E. Leslie Pidgeon, Third Vice-President I. A. of R. C., snapped at the San Francisco Convention by Rotarian Taylor, San Diego."

LESLIE PIDGEON, third vice‑president I. A. of  R. C., who was a resident of Vancouver, B. C., and member of the Vancouver Rotary Club when elected at San Francisco last July, now enjoys the distinction of being a member of two Rotary clubs. The Vancouver Club has made him honorary member for life and he has been elected to active membership in the Winnipeg club, following his removal from Vancouver to Winnipeg to accept a call to become pastor of the Augustine Presbyterian Church of Winnipeg.

Vice‑President Pidgeon is a native of Canada, having been born in the province of Quebec 23 April, 1873. He was reared on his father's farm, and this accounts for his fondness for the out‑door world and his proficiency as a sportsman.

In 1901 he was graduated from the Montreal Presbyterian College and his first charge was St. Andrews church, Markham, Ont., where he remained four years. Then he went to Knox church, St. Thomas, known as the only church which was ministered to by Dr. J. A. MacDonald before he left the pulpit to take up journalism in which field he has made a great reputation as the editor of the Toronto Globe. Dr. Pidgeon did not succeed MacDonald, his immediate predecessor having been Dr. E. R. Drummond of Hamilton.

After six years of successful work at St. Thomas he was called to St. John's church, Vancouver and it was here that he discovered Rotary and became a member of the Vancouver club.

Vice‑President Pidgeon is a deep student of philosophy and probably derives his greatest influence in his association with men from his ability to enjoy the things which the average man enjoys and his faculty of embodying religious truths in modern, reasonable forms. Rotarians who have heard him can testify to his strength as a speaker and his ability to make friends.

He admits that he is a fair golfer. He was captain of the Elgin Golf Team of Ontario for four years and trained many of his best players. In former years he was an expert horseman, but recently has been won by the motor car and he takes quite a little pardonable pride in the fact that automobile men in Vancouver considered him one of the best drivers in the city.

Mr. Pidgeon has retained his fondness for hunting and his ability to handle a rifle better than an ordinary hunter. He proved his right to this claim at Houston during the 1911 convention when he was challenged by Rotarians Kelly and Webster to shoot with them, the loser to pay for the powder. He won, with fifteen bull's eyes out of sixteen shots.

On Christmas day 1902 he married Miss Edith Gilker of New Richmond, Quebec. There are three children in the home, Lloyd, Marion and Arthur, whose ages are twelve years, seven years and seven months, respectively, Arthur was only three weeks old when his father went to San Francisco to attend the 1915 Rotary convention.

Outside of his pulpit Vice‑President Pidgeon considers his membership in Rotary as his greatest privilege and he does not hesitate to say "I have met the finest men of my experience and have felt the largest measure of freedom of speech and received the most sympathetic hearing in Rotary."

The Rotarians of Vancouver are to be sympathized with because of their loss of Rotarian Pidgeon and the Rotarians of Winnipeg are to be congratulated because he is now numbered as one of them.