Without several
circumstances, none of us would enjoy the privilege of service in
Rotary. What Paul Harris called "The Doorway to Friendship." One of
those circumstances was the childhood of Harris himself, much
covered in this website and in Harris' writings however, it's likely that little would have come of it except a few
"business" clubs had it not been for the exceptional dedication of a
man from the Chicago Library system by the name of Chesley R. Perry,
a
veteran of the Spanish American War.
"Rotary Global History Fellowship" team has combined
their efforts to find and display information, some never seen
before about the man Paul Harris called "The Builder of Rotary."
There is a brief history
of C.
R. Perry along with his family background and that of his partner
and fellow Chicago Rotarian, longtime RI Treasurer Rufus Chapin.
Perhaps the best history of "Ches" is the
one written by
the third president of Rotary, Russell Greiner, in 1914.
You'll learn that Perry "never saw the inside of a school room until
he was 15," but gained an education quickly and went to work in the
Chicago Public Library system. By the end of the century he was
fighting in Cuba in the Spanish American War. His good friend from
that era, Wes King returned to
Salt Lake City
and later was instrumental in that city's Rotary Club.
There is much to discover about this tireless
worker. How
Paul Harris
secured his loyal service and therefore saved Rotary's future.
The single
disagreement,
that we know of, between Harris and Perry.
Perry "ran" Rotary through 32 presidents of Rotary
international, during two world wars, countless conventions,
meetings, trips and crisis.
He shaped Rotary and steered it. When he retired,
all of the
living presidents praised his work.
A very humble man, he did not
attend the final convention when he retired, not wanting to
interfere with the incoming general secretary, Philip Lovejoy.
Paul Harris was the architect and
founder of Rotary and Perry was the builder. The two worked together
from 1910 until Perry's retirement in 1942. Yet, by Harris' words,
the two never socialized, never had dinner together, were never
"pals" in any sense of the word.
Perhaps, for the purpose of this "archive" of
history, Perry's article on "THE
QUESTION OF PLAGIARISM IN ROTARY"
is one of his most important statements.
Ches Perry, later a president of
the Rotary Club of Chicago, is someone we all should study and from
whom we can all learn.
Jack Selway, Founder Rotary Global History Fellowship. Recipient of the Ches Perry award
presented 6 May 2003 at the Rotary Club of
Chicago
