Fines
None
Birthdays
Dan S.– tomorrow 2/9
CLUB BUSINESS - Announcements and committee reports
- Reminder to Board Members – Board meeting Monday 2/14th @ 7am City Hall-all members are welcome to attend
- The night group met last Wednesday. Tentative 5k race date, 9/10, and course to begin and end at Commons Park. Next meeting 2/16 -New Route-West Lake, past the lake, past lakeside, down main street, and finish at commons park.
- Regional Rotary Presidents meeting on Thursday 2/10 @ 6 pm with Governor Karen and Asst. Governor Mick. Share ideas and fellowship.
- FFA sponsoring a at LMHS -Euchre tournament on Feb 20th, registration at Noon. Starts at 12:30pm
- Feb 19th at 6 pm Jefferson Rotary is hosting a Beer & Wine Event --see Jefferson Rotary Website for more details.
PROGRAM
Lake Mills Rotary Past President, Mick Selck shared the history of Rotary last week. This week, he shared the history of the Lake Mills Rotary Part I.
Wisconsin History
In April 1912, Superior, WI was the 1st Rotary Club Sponsored by Duluth Club. 40th Rotary Club in the World. Milwaukee joined in January 1913 as the 57th club and Madison in June 1913 as the 71st club.
Rumor has it, the first Board of Directors rolled the dice to elect officers. Now are officers are nominated and elected by each club.
Rotary Club redistricting many over a dozen times due to rapid growth in WI.
Lake Mills joins Rotary in 1954
In 1954, two gentleman from the Watertown Rotary, Ted Vitcenda and Bud Hughes invited Clarence "Pop" Wendt from Lake Mills to organize a Rotary Club in Lake Mills. He lived at the Fargo Mansion at that time. Clarence was very involved in the community and very well known in the community. He was a Methodist Pastor and probation officer. The keynote speaker when we accepted our charter was Clifford Randall, an attorney in Milwaukee. He later became the Rotary International President.
The1st meeting was heled at Cottage Hotel (know today as Bayberry Inn). In 1954, there was an article in paper-Rotary Club starting in Lake Mills.
We elected the 1st board on Nov. 2nd 1954, officially making us a Rotary Club. Once voted in and the club was formed, Dr. Anis Karps was the first guest speaker at a Rotary meeting.
One other noted speaker was a 1957 Gold Medal Winning Basketball Player. Tradition lives on today that we have vibrant speakers every week.
The first woman speaker was C.L. Cushman from UW-Madison in November 1954. At the time Rotary was a "Men's Only" club. This was 30 years before a female could join as a Rotary Member. Today the Lake Mills Rotary is just shy of 50% female members. Go ladies!
On Dec. 7th, 1954 over 100 Rotarians and 176 guests met at the American Legion to celebrate the charter of Lake Mills Rotary. The Opening Rotary Bell that we use today was a gift from the Beloit Rotary.
In 1954, Civil Defense Task Force spoke to our Club about what to do if an H-Bomb hit Milwaukee. The estimated that 300k refugees that may flee to Lake Mills and discussed ways that we could help support and protect those refugees.
The 1st Ladies Night was in 1955.
Boy of the Month/Student Rotarians/Scholarships
In November 1955, we invited the Boy of the Month (today known as Student Rotarians). Norma Larson was an early female Rotarian in Lake Mills. We are honored to have high achieving students join us every month from Lake Mills High School and Lakeside Lutheran High School and share their accomplishments, vision, and goals.
The first $100 scholarship went to a Eileen Schmidt and her parents felt it was a waste of money, since she would "just get married".
She went to college in Athens, Georgia. She became a teacher and a tax consultant in Athens, GA where she lives today. Because Rotary was willing to take a chance on a "poor little farm girl", she felt it was important to give back and start her own scholarship fund. This scholarship provides scholarships to women over age 35 to help further their education.
Fundraising
One of early Rotary fundraisers was a pancake dinner that raised $226. In 1961, Lake Mills Rotary hired Les Brown and his band of renown--very well attended. This fundraiser did not make enough money to pay the band, so Rotarians had to dig into their own pockets to pay the band.
The Piggy Bank was introduced in 1958 as a way for each member to make a contribution meetings. 25 cents then = to $3.00 today.
The Joker Draw started in 2004 when Ken Stetson and his wife came back from Hawaii Rotary meeting. Donny Straus was the 1st winner and gave half of his winnings back to the club.
We have discontinued the Joker Draw to comply with State Gaming Regulations
Another fundraiser was the Rose sales for Mother's Day. We did the Rose sales from the 1960's to 2016. In recent years we have switched to Hanging baskets for Mother's Day weekend.
Rotary Traditions
During the 1st Christmas Program in 1954, 17 members of high school chorus performed. We still enjoy this as a tradition today! The last 2 years this has been done virtually.
We used to host Foreign Students Weekend. Foreign students would visit in the spring to share more about themselves, their country, and culture. This was phased out in the early 1970's.
Story of the Bell and Gavel we use to open and close the Rotary Meeting. The bell was part of a competition between New York and London Rotary Clubs. New York Won! The loser had to present something to winner. They presented the bell from the HMS Victory (Admiral Nelson from the Battle of Trafalgar of 1922) We ring the bell at the beginning and end of every meeting. This signifies we have rules and follow them.
Rotary clubs have been exchanging Banners since 1959 to showcase local flair & global friendship. The banners often include symbols or images of a club’s town, region, or country. Some represent local cultural traditions or artistry by featuring leatherwork, weaving, embroidery, or hand-painted designs. Many of the banners are works of art in themselves.
Lake Mills Rotary-Past Banner...
Current Rotary Banner...
1962 Club Photo by Fred Stare-do you know anyone in this picture?
Rotary has been sponsoring Post Prom since the 1960's. Some were very formal and even served Duck or Roast and had elaborate decorations. There was also a Lock-in at the School 1978 that did not go well and was discontinued. Today, Lake Mills Rotary sponsors Post Prom at Hering's Fish Bowl.
We got involved in Rotary Polio Eradication efforts in 1980.
FARM Day was held for 44 years at the Lake Mills Rotary. We invited local farmers to join us and have a guest speaker to learn more about farming industry. We have not done this for awhile, but would love to consider reintroducing this tradition.
Denny Hawkes has been a Lake Mills Rotarian for 57 years. He served as President in 1970. Assumed the presidency early due to Rodney Williams death in 1970 and was the president elect in 1971. He are happy to see him at our weekly meetings today!
Stay tuned for more Lake Mills Rotary History....
We are on a waiting list for historical records from Rotary International.
Meeting adjourned 1:00pm
