I am writing this newsletter at the
Rotary Convention in Chicago. Part of it is written in our booth number
434 in the House of Friendship. A Rotary Convention is a special place,
because there are so many Rotarians together at the same time, it feels
like the energy in the air is elevated. The place feels very safe,
friendly and tolerant. It feels very different from other types of
conventions. It is a difference that makes me feel that the world would
be a much better place if we had more Rotarians in it.
During the Rotary Convention, I have
met many very interesting Rotarians from around the world. They come to
our booth to tell us how much they like our weekly newsletters with the
“What Paul Harris Wrote” quotes.
I have also met many people with
interesting information about Rotary Global History. One of those is Robina
Quale-Leach from Albion, MI.
Robina told me that when she was a
child she knew Paul Harris. Paul and Jean spent their summers in
Onekama, MI, which is on the same latitude as Green Bay in Wisconsin.
Her parents and Robina used to be invited to dinner with Paul and Jean
Harris two or three times every summer. Robina’s best memory of Paul
Harris was from 1943, when she was only 12 years old. Paul Harris then
told her that he looked forward to the end of World War Two, so that
Rotary could revive in Germany, Italy and Japan. Paul Harris also said
that he wanted Rotarians around the world to work together to build a
lasting peace.
Robina Quale-Leach together with Rotary Global History Chairman Matts
Ingemanson
Robina also told me that Paul Harris
unsuccessfully tried to enroll her father into Rotary. Little did he
know that he instead convinced Robina to join Rotary. She became a
Rotarian in 1990, shortly after Rotary started to admit women.
I think that one explanation for the
fast growth of Rotary was that Paul Harris (and other Rotarians) always
tried to enroll new people into Rotary.
Rotary International Past President
Herb Taylor [also the 50th
anniversary president of RI] created the 4-Way Test, which Rotarians
around the world use every day. I said in a speech during the Rotary
Convention that I believed the 4-Way Test came to Herb Taylor as a
response to his prayer for help. Some people would say that the 4-Way
Test was God given for Herb Taylor and other Rotarians to use.
Two days later, I met Herb Taylor’s
Grandson Al Mathis in our booth number 434. Al is a Rotarian from
Childersburg, Alabama. He told me that his Grandfather viewed the 4-Way
Test as the answer by God to his prayers and he that wanted other
Rotarians to benefit from it as well. Al is also the President of the
4-Way Test Association.
RI
Past President Herb Taylor’s Grandson Al Mathis (middle) together with
Rotary Global History’s Chairman Matts Ingemanson (left) and
Director Cal Thompson
(right)
Jim Alden is a Rotarian, who has worked
for many years to preserve Paul & Jean Harris’ home Comely
Bank (located
in Chicago). Paul Harris named it "Comely Bank" after the Edinburgh,
Scotland Street where his wife Jean grew up.
Last week on June 16th,
2005, Jim Alden’s dreams came true, when Rotary International President
Glenn Estess, RI Past President Luis Vincente Giay, and RI Past
President Frank Devlyn and RI President Nominee Bill Boyd together with
many Rotary International Directors attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
to open Comely Bank as a museum.
Ribbon cutting Ceremony at
Comely Bank, from left to right Jim Alden together with 2004 Rotary
International Centennial President Glenn Estess, 1996 RI President
Luis Vincente Giay, 2006 RI President and 2000 RI President
Frank Devlyn.
Because Rotary Global History is Internet based with members from all over the world, our
Board of Directors is also spread around the world. At our History
Fellowship Breakfast Meeting on June 18th, 2005 during the
Rotary Convention, seven of our ten Directors had a chance to be
together in the same room as you can see at this photo:
2005 RI Convention — Rotary’s Celebration of a
Century
Capping off the yearlong Rotary Centennial
celebration, the 2005 RI Convention drew more than
39,460 registrants from 161 countries to Rotary's
birthplace of Chicago. The event broke records for
both attendance and countries represented at an RI
Convention.
Convention goers looked back at a century of the
accomplishments of Rotary's many programs throughout
the world. Prominent speakers, including Wangari
Maathai, Ted Turner, and Dr. Jong-wook Lee, praised
the commitment of Rotarians worldwide to community
service and the polio eradication effort.
The excitement of Rotarians echoed through the
convention aisles, plenary halls, and at special
events such as Rotary Night at the Ballgame and the
Centennial Parade. Popular features of the
convention included the Rotary time capsule (where
clubs placed messages in a stainless-steel vessel to
be opened again in 2105), the bustling House of
Friendship, and historical exhibits.
