Roy Terwilliger, David Anderson, Pastor Rod Anderson: The History of A.M. Rotary
Longtime club members Roy Terwilliger, David Anderson, and Pastor Rod Anderson offered us a valuable, we-were-there-when-it-happened account of the founding and early history of the club. Each has 37 to 43 years of history in the club, so they would know.The club was chartered in June 1976 with about 25 members. The Hopkins and Edina Noon clubs were instrumental in forming Eden Prairie A.M. Rotary, and especially Edinan Don Brauer, who was an early Eden Prairie city planner who also had an office in EP. Eden Prairie had a population of only about 6,000 to 8,000 – most of which was north of Hwy. 5. Farmland was beginning to be developed, and new amenities included Eden Prairie Shopping Center.
The club drew a lot of Rotarians from neighboring cities who were making up missed meetings. Rotary was stricter about attendance then, and A.M. Rotary was one of the few breakfast clubs. Meeting locations over the years have gone from the Powers Department Store restaurant to Mr. Steak to Flagship Athletic Club to Bearpath to Biaggi’s and back to Bearpath. Whew!
The club had colorful forays into international service, thanks in part to member Dr. Hakon Torjesen’s involvement in the area of worldwide medical health. Projects included a new truck purchased and shipped to Laos for use by medical volunteers. Locally, the club collaborated with the Lions to start an Eden Prairie Fourth of July celebration and helped the Optimists by dressing up in tights and tunics to sell Baron of Beef sandwiches at the Renaissance Festival. Money was also raised by hosting a circus and holding blood drives, among other things.
A lot of other community organizations and efforts came out of A.M. Rotary, including the Eden Prairie Community Foundation, the Eden Prairie Crime Fund, and Prairie Fest. As the threesome said, a definition of what is means to be involved in Eden Prairie was pretty much written by the A.M. Rotary Club.
Announcements
We’ll hear from our exchange student, Judit, at our April 23 meeting. The April 30 meeting will feature Superintendent of Schools Josh Swanson. The May 7 meeting will start 15 minutes early, be held at Eden Prairie High School, and focus on the annual STRIVE awards. Outside of Tuesday meetings are the Swallowship at Piper’s Coffee & Café on April 18, the annual Park Cleanup the morning of April 27, and the Above & Beyond Awards the evening of April 29.
Happy Fives
We’re happy and willing to donate $5 (or more) to The Rotary Foundation to prove it. Jane McGinty is happy to hear that the student-exchange program is on the schedule of club presentations, and also happy that her daughter loved the host-family portion of a class trip to Spain. Kelly Salwei is contributing a dollar for each of his 40 tax seasons. John Goergen is happy that his son has been named a tenured professor at Purdue. Dick Ward is happy to report his youngest daughter completed her 10th marathon, this one in Boston. Roger Jorgensen is happy to soon learn whether his expected grandchild will be wearing a pink or blue Packers jersey. Guest and prospective member Patrick Donahue is happy to report that a new local and entrepreneurial organization called 1 Million Cups is getting local and national notice. PG Narayanan offered a “Sad Five,” the damage by fire to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Jay Simpson is happy about his daughter having achieved the title of certified medical illustrator. Holly Link is happy to report that the master’s thesis produced by her son has been OK’d, making him the new recipient of a master’s degree.
Visitors
Patrick Donahue - Prospective Member
Jerry McCoy
Noah Stuhr and Andy Tan - Student Interns