Brief histories of the
"First 100" Clubs
Rotary Club of
Spokane 21
Rotary
International District 5080
Spokane,
Washington, USA, about 1911.
About the middle of February, 1911,
Ernst L.
Skeel, a Seattle Rotary club charter member, and at that time, the secretary
of the Seattle club, came to Spokane to discuss with a gathering the
possibilities of starting a club in Spokane. Not all 26 present joined the
new club, but the application was made for membership in what was then the
National Organization of Rotary Clubs of America.
On July 24, 1911, the National
Organization advised the Board of Directors that Spokane, with 20 members,
became the 21st club in Rotary and 4th in the Northwest. Since that early
date of being sponsored by the Seattle club, Club 21 has gone on to sponsor
12 other Rotary clubs. The first was Walla Walla in 1919. The last to be
sponsored was Rotary South in 1972. In between were Coeur d'Alene, Wallace,
Spokane Valley, Pullman, Colfax, Spokane North, Spokane Hillyard, Cheney,
Spokane East, and Spokane West.
Club 21 has had eight members serve as
District Governor. One, Fred K. Jones, went on to be an International
Director in 1945-46.
