Unheard of in the early days of Rotary to note any retirement of back office staff, male or female, The Rotarian published the following retirement notice as a news article in the July 1960 issue. Equally unique was the publishing of the photographs of Charlotte Lane and Thelma Decker, who retired at the end of the 1959-1960 Rotary year, after attending the International Convention in Miami-Miami Beach, Florida, which was held May 29 through June 2, 1960.

 

It is interesting to note how women were called and designated in the early 1960s. Such designators as “girls” would not be considered acceptable in the culture of the new millennium.

 

Doug Rudman

Wolfgang Ziegler

 

Thank You Girls!

 

CAPABLE . . . conscientious . . . careful . . . proficient . . . competent . . . reliable."

 

Preceded by letters of reference punctuated with these adjectives, these two girls came to the staff of Rotary International more than 30 years ago. They came quietly, they worked quietly, and now, having reached retirement age, they leave quietly on June 30. Save that you learn it here, you might never have known that they made the job of serving the Rotary Clubs of the world their lifetime careers.

 

For Charlotte Lane, that career has spanned 36 years. Born in Europe and brought to the U.S.A. at an early age, she attended school and took her first job in Chicago, and in 1924, joined the Central Office staff. Her first assignment was in the Fiscal Department as an accounts-receivable bookkeeper.

From then until 1949 she served in that department, moving to senior assistant bookkeeper and then to section head-accountant. In 1947, The Rotary Foundation began to swell as a tribute to Rotary's Founder, Paul Harris, who died in that year. To Charlotte fell the task of keeping track of the growing flood of contributions; since 1949 she has been accountant to The Rotary Foundation. During her staff years, Charlotte served at seven Conventions and three International Assemblies. After her retirement she will continue to live in Evanston.

 

A Missourian by birth, Thelma Decker came to the Central Office staff by way of Indiana, where she had worked in a publishing firm. Her first staff assignment was to the Stenography and Typing Section, then to the Service to Clubs Department, then to the Program Department. Ever since 1934, Thelma's office environment has been the Magazine Division, where she first served as a secretarial assistant; for many years she has assisted the head of the Circulation Section. She has attended four Conventions and five International Assemblies. Upon retirement she will live on a farm near St. Joseph, Missouri.

 

Just before "R-Day" came for Charlotte and Thelma, their colleagues of the staff rallied around them, reviewed the years of office friendship with them, l wished them well, commended them for their significant helpfulness in making, the Rotary wheel turn for many years.