ROTARY/One Visit to Comely Bank

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On May 5^th 2006 RGHF Chairman (2006) Cal Thomson met up with IPP of ROTARY/One Rob Knueppfer in East Lothian.

Rob was across in Scotland playing golf at some of Scotland’s finest golf courses and we met up at East Lothian’s most famous course, Muirfield – home of many a British Open Golf Championship. We then progressed to visit Edinburgh - Jean Harris' grave, her birthplace in Cumberland St and of course, Comely Bank.

Rob at Newington Cemetery

Rob who had the honour to be ROTARY/One’s President in the centennial year of 2004-05 is also Chairman of the Trustees of the Paul and Jean Harris Home Foundation.

I am grateful to Rob for his powerpoint presentation from the foundation, his club banner and a lovely box of mint chocolates from the famous Marshall Fields store who I am told was an eminent Scottish immigrant to Chicago.

Ironically enough, it was in Marshall Fields store where Jan Harris' two brother worked after first emigrating to Alberta, Canada. It was while working in Marshall Fields store that they summoned Jean and the rest of the family to come to Chicago.

One interesting point is that though both the foundation and our information as supplied by Edinburgh Rotary Club point out that 81 Comely Bank Avenue was Jean's childhood home, James Walsh's biography of Paul Harris – The First Rotarian - tells us that it was number 41. I would prefer to accept number 81as the correct number as Walsh also gets the street of her birth wrong - he claims (in his book) it is Cumbernauld Street (no such street) when it is in actual fact, Cumberland Street. Walsh himself admits in his list of sources that he received the Jean Harris research second-hand.

Calum and Rob at 6 Cumberland Street

I mentioned to Rob, the idea of putting a plaque outside 81 Comely Bank Avenue as there is one at Cumberland Street – placed there a few years back by the Rotary Club of St. Louis.

Rob at Comely Bank Avenue

Recognizing the Comely Bank address is perhaps of greater significance to Rotary's history in my view. RGHF senior historian Cal Thomson, 14 July 2006

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