|
Brief histories of the
"Rotary's First 100" Clubs
Rotary Club of Cleveland
#18, 1911
Rotary
International District 6630
Cleveland, site of the
1925 and
1939 Rotary International Conventions
Birthplace of the
Rotary Foundation of Rotary International
Home Club of Rotary
International Presidents
Arch Klumph 1916-17 and
A. Z. Baker 1955-56
|
 Arch Klumph, 6th President of
Rotary International
1916-1917 (convention
site)
RIP Klumph's Home Page
RIP Klumph's Essay on The Rotary Foundation
Read about Arch Klumph, one of Rotary's early leaders
It was Arch Klumph who told his district
governors to learn the Rotary constitution and Rotary's History!
|
 A.
Z. Baker, RI President 1955-56, a member of RC of Cleveland held his
convention in
Philadelphia, that city's first convention.
RIP Baker's Home Page
|
|
Arch Klumph, 3rd from the left,
Paul Harris seated 2nd from the right. A breakfast during the 25th
anniversary of Club #18 |
Paul Harris planted a
Friendship Tree,
during the
1939
Convention at Cleveland |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 See
our delegation at Rotary's 2nd convention in Portland, Oregon, USA in 1911.
A rare, early Rotary history photo, with Arch Klumph holding our banner.
|
-A Short History Of
The Founding Year Of The Rotary Club Of Cleveland
by Leon H. Swartout, Executive Director Emeritus
When the late Leon H. Swartout became Executive Director Emeritus of The
Rotary Club of Cleveland at the end of 1996, he immediately embarked upon a
mission to write the history of the Club. What follows is a condensation of
his account of the Club's founding year.
The Founding
Some time before 1910, Major Charles R. Miller, a prominent Cleveland
attorney and a veteran of the Spanish-American War, found himself in the
company of Rotary's founder, Paul Harris. They met on a train going from
Chicago to San Francisco. Paul Harris told Major Miller about this new and
unique club, which was now called "Rotary Club," that he and three other
young men had organized in the city of Chicago. Paul explained to Major
Miller about the distinctive classification system and that each member was
expected to favor other members in the club with his business. Major Miller
was well respected in Cleveland and was a cousin of President William
McKinley.
In August of 1910, Major Miller went to Denver, Colorado to an encampment of
Spanish-American War veterans, and there he met up with an old comrade, Army
Captain Chesley R. Perry. In 1908, Mr. Perrry had joined the newly formed
Rotary Club of Chicago and was "on fire" for Rotary. He had been involved
earlier that year as Chairman of the Extension Committee of the Chicago
Rotary Club, calling together the 16 Rotary Clubs that existed at the time
to a meeting in Chicago. The purpose was to discuss the formation of a
National Association. As a result of this meeting, the first Rotary
convention was held at the Congress Hotel in Chicago. The National
Association of Rotary Clubs was formed and Chesley Perry was elected the
Secretary. All of this early Rotary history was related to Major Miller at
the Denver encampment.
During the very next month, September of 1910, Ches Perry was attending a
meeting of the Perry's Victory Commission in Cleveland, and he and Major
Miller again talked about Rotary. Ches went into all the details regarding
the organization.
As a result, Major Miller began to build interest locally and finally asked
Ches Perry to again come to Cleveland, which he promised to do. In October
of 1910, Major Miller, assisted by Thomas Goss, gathered about a dozen or so
men and they met for lunch in a small room in the old Chamber of Commerce
building. These men set about becoming an organizing committee to form a
Rotary Club. Major Miller was the acting President and Arthur E. Merkel, a
patent lawyer, became the acting Secretary.
The names of the first twelve to fifteen men who were involved is a bit
fuzzy in the records of the Club and in the memories of those who later
commented about the meeting. Also, it seems that, to these early Rotarians,
there was a mixing up of who was Ches Perry and who was Paul Harris. It is
most likely that Ches Perry attended the October 1910 meeting while Paul
Harris and Ches Perry both were in attendance at the subsequent December 1
organizational meeting.
Certainly present at the October meeting, in addition to Major Miller and
Arthur Merkel, were: William Downie, master painter of the William Downie
Painting Company; Herman R, Neff, an architectural engineer; Herman Moss of
the Equitable Insurance Society; and William Storch, water heater sales.
At this meeting, a temporary organizational committee was set up. A
Nominating Committee was formed as well as a Constitution and By-laws
Committee. Each man present was to bring a list of ten names to the next
meeting. By October 29, 1910, they had some 50 members pledged. The goal was
to get 100 names and then schedule a dinner and get a permanent organization
started. They were advised to go slow with a view to making the best
selections possible for new members.
Eventually, on Thursday, December 1, 1910, a formal organizational meeting
was held at the Chamber of Commerce, with 35 men present. Paul Harris and
Chesley R. Perry were both in attendance. They answered questions and made
presentations to the new Rotarians. Officers were elected for the fiscal
year beginning on January 1, 1911. Charles R. Miller was elected as the
first President of the Rotary Club of Cleveland.
It was voted to hold meetings on every second Monday, and an entertainment
committee was instructed to decide on the next place of meeting. At this
organizational meeting it was moved that a member absenting himself without
a written excuse for three consecutive meetings be dropped from membership.
This idea exists in various forms in Rotary yet today. The cost of the
dinner at the organizational meeting was $1.00.
Annual dues were set at $15 and it was carefully pointed out to the
membership that this included twelve meals as well. Thus the luncheon plan
subsequently set up in 1985 by the Rotary Club of Cleveland was nothing new;
it had been in existence in 1910-1911.
After the meeting on December 1, Paul Harris and Ches Perry, along with
others, adjourned to the Hollenden House (I'm guessing it was actually the
bar) for further talk and relaxation, beginning yet another tradition that
continues to this day. So, there you have a little bit of Rotary history.
|
Ohio with 6
First 100 Clubs
D6670
Cincinnati 17 1910
D6630
Cleveland 18 1911
D6690
Columbus 38 1912
D6600
Toledo 44 1912
D6670
Dayton 47 1912
D6670
Springfield 98 1914
|
|
