The
History of the Rome Rotary Club
The First 25 years
(1919-1944 ) -Records
indicate that the Rome Rotary Club was
conceived on the 24th day of October, 1919, on which
date Messrs. Depard, Rathbun, Fraser, Train, and Clark came from
Utica and addressed a meeting of interested Romans at the Rome Club.
From this meeting grew an organization committee headed by Daniel
W. Wardwell, which selected twenty-five men as charter members.
An organizational
meeting was held on November 6th with thirty-five Utica Rotarians
and twenty charter members of the proposed Rome Rotary Club being
present. Officers and Directors were elected and on November 13th,
the first luncheon meeting was held. The meeting place was the old
Rome Club on East Dominick Street. This was featured by an inaugural
address of President Weston Jenkins.
Weekly meetings followed with appropriate
programs until January 9th 1920 when the charter
was presented by Charles A. Miller, President of the Utica
Rotary Club. A large number of Utica Rotarians were present as was
District Governor Lidbury of Niagara Falls, Frank Weedon of Syracuse
and Rev. George F. Dugan of Albany. The Club grew steadily in membership
and accomplishment.
The Charter Members
of The Rome Rotary Club were:
Merton Barnes * A.R. Kessinger * Benjamin
H. Beach * Arthur P. Knight * Lester C. Bush * Delos A. Lawton
* Arthur F. Carpenter * Albert B. Norton * George G. Claribut
* William J. Mullin * George A. Clyde Sr. * James P. Olney * Frank
J. DeBisschop * George R. Staley * Herbert T. Dyett *Howard J.
Teller * Louis T. Gregerson * Percy C. Thomas * Cassius H. Halsted
* George W. Turney * John R. Harper * Daniel W. Wardwell * Weston
Jenkins * Arthur D. White * Frank J. Jewell
In the fall of 1920, Rome
Rotary Club, through a proposition made by Percy C. Thomas, initiated
The Community Chest locally. The idea,
born in Rotary and established by the First World War Chest, was
adopted by the community and has been in operation ever since, barring
a short time during the Depression.
At about the same time, a
program on "School Dental Clinics"
resulted in the appointment of a committee which persuaded the Board
of Education to employ a school dentist. The Club also created a
Birthday Fund to care for crippled
children. On a member's birthday, the member would contribute whatever
he felt he could afford. This covered medical charges and the cost
of braces and crutches for the children. Many eyeglasses were also
purchased for children referred to the Club by the School Health
Department.
Eventually, the work for
the crippled children was taken over by the County and the Birthday
Fund was used to form a Rotary Student Brotherhood. Through the
unfailing generosity of our members, many young men were helped
in meeting college expenses that they would not have been able to
face alone. Intended to be a perpetually revolving fund, it ran
into a period of diminishing collections and was eventually suspended.
Other admirable projects included furnishing milk to indigent children
through the schools and support of the Boys Club.
The weekly meetings were
moved to the Elks Club which gave Rome
Rotary one of the finest meeting places in the District. The weekly
meetings have always constituted a fusing force bringing various
elements of business and profession life into effective unity.
On December 5, 1944 The Rome
Rotary Club celebrated its 25th Anniversary
with a dinner held in the Lodge Room of the Rome Elks Club. It was
a gala occasion with the lodge room filled to its capacity. There
were many visiting Rotarians present. President Maurice G. Steele
presided and founder member Arthur S. Evans was toastmaster. The
principal address was given by Judge Richard C.S. Drummond of the
Auburn Rotary Club. His subject was "Till the Boys Come Home". A
silver anniversary booklet was published to commemorate this occasion.
The History of Rome
Rotary Club The Second Twenty Five Years (1944-1969 )
In keeping with our Rotary motto "Service
Above Self", Rome Rotarians assisted in many charitable
efforts in the Second Twenty-Five Years. In 1944 Rome Rotary held
a very successful clothing drive for the United National Clothing
Collection. This was done in cooperation with the Kiwanis Club.
Another clothing drive was sponsored in 1948 for Britain and Syria.
That year we shipped over 500 pounds of clothing.
The Boy Scouts
received the assistance of our Rotary Club in 1954 and 1958 when
our Rotary Club paid for and erected four cabins at Camp Kingsley
in Ava. In the Rome Community, we sponsored a Little League Baseball
Team and purchased and installed a fence to surround the Little
League Baseball Field. In this time frame,we contributed to Environmental
Control Fund at Rome Hospital, YMCA, Rotary Foundation and Care,
Literary Village, RFA student activities, the Salvation Army, and
The Rome Council on History and Arts.
We also financially and vocally supported
Project Appreciation - a recreational
building for Griffiss Air Force Base Airman. In 1965, The Kent
Amphitheater was started with Rotarian Gorden Kent as the
prime mover. He was assisted by several other Rotarians, but the
greatest material aid was in the form of a $3000.00 grant which
enabled the construction of the electrical power building.
To honor Rotary International's 50th anniversary,
we held a dinner and dance at the Beeches with over 350 Rotarians
from Rome and the surrounding clubs attending. The District Assembly
of our Rotary District #253, the only District Assembly ever held
in Rome, was held at the Beeches Restaurant on April 29th, 1956.
Peter Coccia
became the first District Governor
from the Rome Club (1957-1958 ). In 1973, our Club honored Peter
by making him our Club's first Paul Harris Fellow. In 1953, at the
insistence of some Rotarian wives, we reinstated the practice of
Ladies Night. Additionally, during the 1959-1960 Rotary year, we
held a Secretaries Day and a Christmas party for needy children.
Reese Steele entertained the guests with a Magic Show.
Several very successful fund raisers held
their roots in our Second Twenty-Five years. Rome Rotary sponsored
a Home Show in 1960. In the spring of 1962, we held our first Auto
Show. The Auto Show held again the following year was another resounding
success. In 1964, Rome Rotary sponsored the "Fantastiks"
and that production netted approximately $1500.00 which helped towards
many Rotary projects. Our first Radio Day
was initiated in 1966-1967 and realized a profit of $1900.00. Radio
Day continued to increase in the profits that our Club realized
during the remainder of our Second Twenty-Five Years.
As we ended our second Twenty-Five Years,
our 50th anniversary dinner along with
our Ladies' Night was held on January 17th. 1970 at the Beeches
Restaurant with many visiting Rotarians present. President Earl
Peterson presided with Rotarian Lyndon H. Strough as master of ceremonies.
The main speaker was honorary member John H. Eikenberg, Board Chairman
of Revere Copper & Brass, Inc. His subject was the development of
the brass and copper business in Rome.
The History of Rome
Rotary Club The Third Twenty-Five Years (1969-1994 )
During our Third Twenty-Five years, our
Rome Rotary Club has been most fortunate to be blessed with many
leadership individuals. Three District Governors
were elected from our Club during this time period: Alexander
Fiore, Michael Occhipinti, and John Engelmann. Our Club
was fortunate to have its first women President,
Denise Zernechel in 1993-1994. Our charitable efforts
have continued in our community and throughout the world.
Our Rome Rotary Club was instrumental
in bringing The Gift of Life Program
to our District. Through this program, children from third world
countries who are in need of life saving heart surgery are brought
to the United States where they receive the needed surgery. Since
its inception in 1990, The Gift of Life Program has been able to
offer critical medical assistance to 14
children from countries like Russia, Mexico, Poland,
The Dominican Republic, Ukraine, El Salvador and Jamaica. The Rome
Rotary Club has sponsored five of these children.
In 1985, forty-two houses were built for
our Rotary District in India for families in need of homes. Rome
Rotary Club is proud to have sponsored one of these houses. In 1987,
more than $17,000.00 was raised for Rotary International by our
Club to help eradicate Polio from the face of the earth by the year
2005, Rotary International's 100th birthday. Most recently, Alex
Fiore from our Club has been asked to serve as the Task
Force Coordinator for Polio Plus USA Immunizations. Locally,
our charity has continued by providing financial support to re-decorate
the Emergency waiting area at the Rome Hospital.
Our Club also sponsored a Childrens Corner
through Jervis Library and assisted in refurbishing a Carpentry
Lab for the Rome Campus of Mohawk Valley Community College. Each
year on the Fourth of July our Club holds services locally to honor
those who have fought for our right to liberty. We hold the ceremony
at the Tomb of the Unknown American Revolutionary
War Soldier on James Street. In previous years, we have commemorated
plaques to honor The American Corner, The Chamber of Commerce, and
Griffiss Air Force Base on their 40th anniversary.
Each year, we have sponsored a Geriatrics
Holiday Party at the hospital and a Christmas Party for needy children
from the Rome area. Our Rome Rotarians continue to "ring the bell"
for the local chapter of The Salvation Army during the holidays.
It has been our honor to establish awards for individuals who have
offered valuable volunteer services in Rome through our Roses for
the Living Program. Our first Roses for the
Living recipient was Emma Sykes.
We have also honored local teachers, employees, and students who
have excelled in their areas of expertise. Many of these awards
are offered on an annual basis.
Highlights of our Third Twenty-Five Years
include a luncheon meeting on the packet boat at the Erie Canal
Village. Circus fund raisers, Honor America Day food concessions,
boat races on Lake Delta, and becoming certified referees for the
King Pin Bocce Tournaments in Rome. In 1993, Michael
Occhipinti from our Club, was chosen by Rotary International
to receive the highest Rotary Award "Service
Above Self Award". Only 91 out of 1.1 Million Rotarians
world-wide were chosen that year for this prestigious award through
Rotary International.
In 1992, we established the Paul
P. Harris Memorial Postal Museum which is now housed at The
Carriage House Museum in Camden. This is the only postal museum
in the world which honors Rotarians. The Assistant Postmaster General
of the United States, the Editor of The Rotarian Magazine, and a
United Nations Representative attended our induction ceremonies
for the Postal Museum.
In 1981-1982 our Rome Rotary introduced
International Student Day where our Club hosted foreign students
attending Syracuse University on a tour of our historic area, home
hospitality with Rome Rotarians, and a Thanksgiving dinner at one
of our local churches. Special mention should also be made of Rotarian
John Engelmann's 33 years of perfect attendance. It should also
be noted that the Club had made 26 Paul Harris Fellows during this
Twenty-Five Year Period. In 1994, Rome Rotary Club received The
Presidential Citation for Rotary involvement in each avenue
of service requirements.
The greatest highlight of all though is
the celebration of our 75th
Year of Rotary in Rome NY. As we ended our third Twenty-Five
Years, the Rome Rotary Club,on Sunday, December 11th celebrated
its 75th anniversary at the Beeches Restaurant. Over 525 Rotarians
and guests attended the Dinner and Dance. Attending our anniversary
dinner was District Governor Joseph McCarthy and also we were honored
to have with us The Vice President of Rotary
International, Howard D. Vann who was the keynote speaker.
Joining us and playing for our dancing pleasure was the fabulous
"Glenn Miller Orchestra".
** In concluding
this history there is little need to dwell upon the very palable
and salutary impact which Rome Rotary Club
has had upon the Rome scene and the lives of its members through
the sixty years of its existenence. The many benevolent contributions
of the Club to the welfare of the Rome area have been widely recognized
and the club is held in high esteem by the citizens of the community.
It goes without saying that the prospect of a long continuence of
The Rome Rotary Club is very bright So be it !
- Maurice G. Steele (Club Historian)
October 29, 1979
Submitted by
PDG
Michael D Occhipinti
