ISSUE NO. 2 July 15, 2005 OUR 84th YEAR
www.RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
We had a full head table with Shirley Dowling as our invocator, David Mortenson, Hal Quigley, Prez Paul, Jack Michel, John Robertson, Eric Schmitter, and Judy Neveau. This is the new format. There will always be eight Rotarians at the head table. Along with our regulars, there will be a “seasoned Rotarian” and a member who is in a similar profession to our speaker.
Paul acknowledged Carol Johnson (oooopppps, Carol Jackson) on the piano.
Paul reminded us about the “YAWN CLUB” which was established last week. He reminded us that in addition to the $10 a yawn tariff, he would gladly offer a group rate of $95 for a whole table.
John Miller led us in our welcome song and our special song of the week: The Happy Wanderer. The song "Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann" is often mistaken for a German folk song, but it is actually an original song by Friedrich-Wilhelm, written shortly after WW2. The song's original German lyrics have been translated to several languages and have since become a choir classic, the English lyrics were written by Antonia Ridge. Milton DeLugg wrote a famous arrangement and is sometimes falsely credited as the composer of the song. On Friday, we did it justice!
Announcements:
Four members of the International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians died in an airplane crash in Long Island Sound, Connecticut, USA, on 27 June. Herbert K. Rollins III and his wife, Patricia, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Peter Walsh and his wife, Helen, of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, were on their way from Maine to Groton-New London Airport when their single-engine Cessna 182 went down in foggy weather.
The plane was one of 22 carrying some 70 members of the fellowship participating in an East Coast flying tour after attending the 2005 RI Convention in Chicago.
The deaths were a devastating shock to IFFR members, said Angus Clark, the IFFR world president, in a message posted on the fellowship's Web site. He expressed the group's condolences to the relatives and friends of both couples.
"[Our spirits were] strengthened by a memorial meeting we held on the day following the accident," said Clark. "Prayers were led by the Rev. Tom Johnston, one of the fly-around participants. Passages from [the Bible] were read by other members. Those who knew the couples shared their reminiscences. It was a very moving occasion, which bound us together and helped us both to grieve and come to terms with our loss."
At the time of writing, the cause of the tragic accident had not been officially determined, according to state department of transportation officials. Law enforcement officers and Rotarians who knew Herbert "Chips" Rollins, the owner and flier of the ill-fated plane, said that he was an experienced aviator with a commercial pilot's license. The cause of accident was most likely weather-related, they said.
"He's been a pilot for a very long time," Lucinda Pyne, governor of Rollins's Rotary District 5510. "This is someone who is extremely skilled, not someone who just got their pilot's license."
The Rollinses and Walshes were members, respectively, of the Rotary clubs of Tempe South and Wagga Wagga. Residents and media in the victims' hometowns remembered them as generous, civic-minded members of the community.
Usually, the IFFR organizes a flying tour, which members call a post-convention fly-away, fly-about, or fly-around, immediately after Rotary International's annual convention. The Long Island Sound crash is the second time that participants have died during such an event since the fellowship was founded 40 years ago. During a flying tour following the 2002 RI Convention in Barcelona, Spain, four members perished when their plane went down in Portugal's Sintra Mountains.
We received this wonderful photo and note: “Our hearts are always in L.A., but now we’ve found a place to stay that brings us happiness and pleasure, with Golf and tennis for good measure. Our new address is: 74076 Chinook Circle, Palm Desert, CA 92211. 760.346.5444. Ruth and Dick Rice.
Also in my mail was a letter from Phil Whiting: He wanted me to know that I misspoke. Since his recent hospital bout, he does not have 46 years of perfect attendance. He counted it out; it was 45 years, 6 months and 3 weeks. Something like that. I cannot exactly remember ‘cuz I left his note at my office. Regardless Phil, you do not lose your perfect attendance. You have that plus all the time you have been just “perfect” now!
Have some old Paperback Books? Kris Andresen is collecting them as part of our literacy program. Every once in a while, you may like to purge your library. Well do not throw them away. Our Club delivers books not only to schools but to nursing homes as well.
Message from Paul:
Someone who has fought a battle with cancer has touched all of us: a family member, a friend, a colleague or perhaps just an acquaintance.
This weekend, beginning at 9:00 AM Saturday, we can support the campaign for research, which eventually will lead to cures for most cancers. The event, at Santa Monica College, continues for 24 hours, ending at 9:00 AM Sunday morning. You have an opportunity to be part of this cancer walk, any time during this 24-hour period. There will be food, entertainment, and even a silent auction. Saturday evening at about 9:00 PM there will be a ceremony honoring those who have lost the battle with this dreadful disease as well as those who are continuing their personal fight.
The way that you can help is to first, write a check for any amount that you are comfortable with to donate to this effort. Second, you can just show up, anytime, and spend at least an hour or two and show your support by walking around the track a few times. Third, you can bid on an item or two during the silent auction, which will continue until approximately 10:00 PM Saturday night. Fourth, you can purchase a luminary, which honors someone who has lost the fight or who is fighting against cancer. The luminaries are only $10.00 each.
I encourage all of you to sign up for this event. When you arrive at the field you must sign in and you will be giving a tee shirt denoting your support for this effort. You will also be asked to sign a waiver releasing the event sponsors from responsibility of anything that may occur as you join in your participation. Please join Marilyn and me and many of your fellow Rotarians Saturday as we support this community effort to bring hope to those suffering from cancer. Thank you in advance for your support.
Hilltop mansion holds history of a fellowship: Century-old Rotary International took shape in gatherings at a picturesque and inviting home on the Far South Side, now preserved as a legacy to its founder. By Jon Anderson, Chicago Tribune staff reporter. Published July 14, 2005
He always liked the Morgan Park area, he said, because it reminded him of his New England roots.
There were lots of trees, lots of birds and - unusual for Chicago - lots of
hills.
In winter, the kindly neighbors let kids sled down their front lawns, a drop
of 30 feet or more, "without regard to Property rights," he noted.
Trained as a lawyer, Paul P. Harris was raised on "blueberries and wheat
cakes, Emerson, Thoreau, the Bible and hard work," one biographer reported. He
was also a legendary storyteller, a man who liked to gather a houseful of
friends for an evening of talk and song.
In 1912, when Harris and his Scottish-born wife, Jean, found a Tudor-style
home for sale at 10856 S. Longwood Drive, they grabbed it. Set atop a long
ridge, it was a perfect spot, Harris felt, to set up bird feeders, plant a peace
garden and talk up his big dream.
That had to do with "starting a fellowship of businessmen from different
occupations." At least, that was how Harris described it when he proposed the
idea in the winter of 1905 to three friends: a coal merchant, a mining engineer
and a merchant tailor.
They called their group Rotary, because its members met in rotation at their
various offices.
Now, a century later, Rotary International has 33,000 clubs in 168 countries
with, at latest count, some 1.2 million members.
"They worked out a lot of their early ideas here," one modern-day Rotarian,
Frederick J. Otto, a lawyer in Park Ridge, said Wednesday.
He was talking about the legacy of Comely Bank, as the stately, old house was
called until 1947 when Paul Harris died and his wife moved away.
"With this house, and Jean's cooking, they became emissaries for Rotary to
expand around the world," Otto said.
The name came from the area in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Jean Harris had
lived as a child. The fame came from its reputation as a place where one could
sit down with the charismatic founder of Rotary and refine ways to promote a
newfangled social strategy later to be known as "networking."
To honor such memories, a group of Rotary leaders recently set up the Paul
and Jean Harris Foundation and bought the property.
It will serve as a Rotary memorial museum, with memorabilia from leaders of
Rotary International, as well as letters and photos of Harris.
Last month, during Rotary International's Centennial Convention, a gathering
of 42,000 Rotarians at McCormick Place, Glenn E. Estess Sr., its worldwide
president, led a delegation of Rotarians to the house to plant a tree and cut a
ribbon.
"About 1,000 people went through the house during our convention," reported
Otto, the foundation's secretary.
Otto hopes that the house and grounds, with their history, will attract a steady
stream of visiting Rotarians.
Not helpfully, lightning hit a major tree during a thunderstorm this summer,
severely wounding it. That tree may have to come down, Otto reported. But in the
Rotary spirit, new ones will be planted to replace it.
Happy Birthday Dear Rotarians:
Sam Muslin July 01
Henry Alcantar July 03
Bob Baker July 03
Spyros Dellaportas - July 07
Ann Greenspun July 07
Levey Harris July 07
Nicole Dickerson July 08
Stanley Shu July 09
Lionel Ruhman July 13
Bobby Adams July 16
Monte Herring July 21
Dave Potter July 24
Kent Colberg July 26
Keith Olmo July 26
Bob Klein July 27
Jim Haljun July 31
Tues. July 26 First District Breakfast Crown Plaza Hotel at LAX 7 – 9:00 am
Speaker: Hollywood Council member Eric Garcetti - see June
Fri. July 29 CrAfT tAlKs three members 10 minutes each
Fri. Aug. 5 Don Burgess The Lance Armstrong Story & Bring a Guest Day
Fri. Aug. 19 District Governor’s Visit “Let’s all be on our best behavior”
TBA Party! Party! Party! At the Oyler’s Home more information coming
Sat. Nov. 12 Paul Harris Dinner Queen Mary see June for more info
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even
considering if there is a man on base."
Wanna have some fun? Type: http://www.michaelhodges.com/stuff/funny/2008cc1.swf.
Paul’s Thought for the Day:
"In your pursuit of success, money and power, may you never get what you want, at the price of what you already have.”