Your Weekly GU&G Has Been Updated!!!
Posted by Aaron Phillips
on Feb 12, 2015
News and Views
By:
John Munn
Members were directed to the downstairs meeting room by the sound of piano music played by our own Dave Morse (the Elder). After much socializing, the meeting was called to order with a ring of the bell by President Chuck Cunningham at 7:00 am. This was followed by singing of “Smile” and “America the Beautiful.”
President Chuck began by calling for guests. Those responding were Rotary District Governor Nominee Fred Collignon from Berkeley with his wife Joan, Jerry Wong from the Orinda Rotary, and Bill Bernheim from Dixon. Rose Cholewinski was present to give her thanks for all of the support that club members have given John Youmans, who was able to come home last night. We almost lost him. Now every day is a step closer to being well. Posters .JPG)
were circulated for John and to support another, not to be disclosed, member’s travels. Fred Collignon was given time for comments. We learned that he is a retired Professor from UC Berkeley (“Cal”). His goals for the District in 2016-17 include strengthening cooperation between clubs, help with proposals, raising awareness about opportunities for regional projects, and work with Interact and Rotaract. Then a picture was taken of Manny Carbahal with “his” District Governor.
were circulated for John and to support another, not to be disclosed, member’s travels. Fred Collignon was given time for comments. We learned that he is a retired Professor from UC Berkeley (“Cal”). His goals for the District in 2016-17 include strengthening cooperation between clubs, help with proposals, raising awareness about opportunities for regional projects, and work with Interact and Rotaract. Then a picture was taken of Manny Carbahal with “his” District Governor. Next came announcements. Jay Brookman noted that a job has been found for a local veteran with the help of Bill Kopper. Jim Belenis is having hot dogs and such at his house for anyone who wants to come before the Lady Blue Devil’s game next Friday. Then, on February 21, there will be a joint Rotary event before the UCD men’s basketball game with the University of Hawaii. Natalie Minya Mukome reminded us about signing up for the Rotaract mentor program and that tickets are available for an I-House African event. Don Winters announced that Camp Royal and Camp Venture signups are now open. Vanessa Errecarte invited all present to the Yolo County Food Bank packing day to be followed by a multi-club barbeque. Then Rose Cholewinski added that there will be a Citizens Who Care concert called “Decades of Love” on Valentine’s Day. President Chuck moved on to a discussion of membership. There is no real plan and the club’s recent success has come from invitations and follow-up by John Youmans and David Copp. Comments from the floor about reasons for becoming a Sunrise Rotary Club member included that the club is fun, its work is seen locally, being a member is more than just coming to a meeting, there is a big tent and younger members, and most importantly – just being asked to join. Jerry Wong added that Orinda has created satellite clubs for members who cannot come to a regular club meeting but want to support the club’s goals.
Next up was Sergeant Larry Olsen, who added that another reason for joining the Sunrise Rotary Club is sophomoric Sergeant’s humor. This prompted President Chuck to limit the Sergeant’s time using the excuse of “poor time management,” which caused an immediate call for happy bucks. Dick Berry was happy to have found both a good woman and a good Rotary Club in California. Don Morrill is a new grandfather. Sergeant Larry noted that there was also a picture in the paper, and ordered a payment of $20 to call it even. Ted Puntillo was grateful for Bill Kopper’s help with local veterans. Bud Harmon gave $40 in support of the new club committee for giving a hand to members needing help. Shel Givens was happy that his older daughter was here for his younger daughter’s baby shower. And Rose contributed $20 for having John home and able to talk to anyone about what happened.
President Chuck then declared that the Sergeant’s time was up and called on Mack Walker to introduce our speaker, club member Dick McCapes. Mack noted that Dick grew up in San Luis Obispo, went to UCD, and became a 4th generation veterinarian. He married Marilyn Slater and they had a large 
family. Dick’s career involved much work with Turkeys, he has been a Rotarian for 53 years, and had much to do with starting what used to be known as the Rotary Turkey Barbeque. Dick’s service to both the University and the Davis Community led to him being named as the Picnic Day Parade Grand Marshall in 2013. Dick then took over to give a presentation about his father-in-law, Colby “Babe” Slater. Babe was married to Virginia, and Marilyn was their only child. Babe was an all-around athlete who was noted for being a member of the US Olympic rugby teams that won gold medals in 1920 at Antwerp, Belgium, and again in 1924 at Paris, France. This US success came almost by accident when rugby was played from 1906 through 1914 (including the Cal/Stanford Big Game) in place of American football that had become too dangerous, causing many injuries and some deaths. American football was re-adopted by US schools and colleges after rule changes in 1915, but this left a generation of young men who had grown up playing rugby, which included Babe Slater and his brother, Norman.
family. Dick’s career involved much work with Turkeys, he has been a Rotarian for 53 years, and had much to do with starting what used to be known as the Rotary Turkey Barbeque. Dick’s service to both the University and the Davis Community led to him being named as the Picnic Day Parade Grand Marshall in 2013. Dick then took over to give a presentation about his father-in-law, Colby “Babe” Slater. Babe was married to Virginia, and Marilyn was their only child. Babe was an all-around athlete who was noted for being a member of the US Olympic rugby teams that won gold medals in 1920 at Antwerp, Belgium, and again in 1924 at Paris, France. This US success came almost by accident when rugby was played from 1906 through 1914 (including the Cal/Stanford Big Game) in place of American football that had become too dangerous, causing many injuries and some deaths. American football was re-adopted by US schools and colleges after rule changes in 1915, but this left a generation of young men who had grown up playing rugby, which included Babe Slater and his brother, Norman. Babe attended Davis when it was known as “The Farm” and played most sports. This included throwing the first forward pass for the Davis football team after the 1915 rule changes. He was a member of the Calpha Agricultural Fraternity at Davis, and participated in many Picnic Day activities. Babe served in the Army during WWI and was on the front lines in France and Belgium. He was then chosen to be on the US Olympic rugby team in 1920, which was a surprise winner of the gold medal over France, and was the captain of the US Rugby team in 1924 that repeated as the gold medal winner despite the French team being 20 to 1 favorites. The French did not take this very well. After the 1924 Olympics, Babe went back to farming and bought land in the Clarksburg area where he lived. Another high point was the marriage of Babe and Virginias’ only child, Marilyn, to Dick McCapes in 1955. Babe passed away in 1964 and was, according to Dick, the best Father-In-Law that anyone could ask for. Babe’s accomplishments have led to numerous recognitions. In 1965, the Calpha House donated a “Babe Slater Award” to the University that goes each year to UCD’s top athlete. Marilyn donated Babe’s gold medals and other memorabilia to the UCD collection, and they were used as a backdrop for a 2005 event to re-start rugby programs in the United States. Babe is also included in the Berkeley High School Hall of Fame along with his brother Norman. In answer to questions, Dick recalled that Babe was a big man who some described as being “made of steel.” Although not an expert on rugby, Dick described the two ways to score by kicking or taking the ball across a goal line.
After Dick’s presentation, Dave Morse (the Elder) won a free breakfast in the Draw-of-the-Day. Then President Chuck concluded the meeting with a ring of the bell at 8:05 am.