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Brief histories of the
"First 100" Clubs
Rotary
Club of Peoria 76
Rotary
International District 6460
In the
spring of 1913 a group of interested Peoria businessmen, encouraged by
members of the Chicago
Rotary Club, decided to establish a Rotary Club in Peoria.
Fifteen men met early in April and elected a committee to draw up a plan of
organization. On April 26th a group of fifty-three charter members met with
more than a hundred members of the Chicago Club and THE ROTARY CLUB OF
PEORIA was organized with George Bean as its first president. On June
2, 1913, the club was granted Charter No. 76 by The International
Association of Rotary Clubs. On June 30, 1913 George R. MacClyment was
elected president and served for two years.
The
first party for exceptional children was held on December 25, 1913 and was a
yearly feature of the club program. Ladies Night was first held on April
13, 1915 and was one of the annual highlights of the club.
The
Peoria Club has assisted in organizing other clubs in Bloomington, Kewanee,
Canton, Princeton, East Peoria, Lacon, Galesburg, Washington, Jacksonville,
Morton, Metamora-Germantown Hills, Chillicothe, Pekin, and Peoria-North.
In
1917 a Thanksgiving dinner was given for needy boys, followed by a “Big
Brother” dinner for the next several years. This culminated early in the
1930’s by the club’s active participation in the “Big Brother” movement,
which was sponsored by Dr. A. L. Peters. Club members were made responsible
for wayward boys by the Juvenile Court with a very marked reduction in
juvenile delinquency. Peoria received the first “Big Brother” charter
granted in Illinois and because of Dr. Peters and his “Big Brother”
movement, three cottages at St. Charles were closed and two proposed new
ones were never built.
The
Boys Work Committee sponsored and supervised citywide marble tournaments and
Little League baseball teams.
The
Handicapped Children’s Committee conducted trips to Lincoln Shrines in and
around Springfield, Brookfield Zoo, Camp Ellis, Chicago museums, major
league baseball games at Chicago, and the “Passion Play” at Bloomington.
These were outstanding occasions in the lives of the children who were
guests of the club.
The
Student Guest Program, that invites students from Peoria High School,
Manual, Woodruff, Limestone, Bradley and Illinois Central College to attend
our weekly Rotary meetings, began in the early 1940’s. The Student Loan
Fund was established in 1928 to assist deserving students attending
college. This assistance was on a loan basis until 1945 when a Scholarship
Fund was made available. This fund is financed through members’
contributions as set forth in Section 2, Article V of the By Laws. Today
over $13,000 is allocated annually for scholarships at Bradley, Illinois
Central College, Methodist School of Nursing, and OSF St. Francis School of
Nursing.
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