HOW TOMBALL ROTARY BEGAN
HOW
TOMBALL ROTARY BEGAN
(The following history is based upon the FIRST
TEN
TEARS OF TOMBALL ROTARY as recorded by an unknown author on the occasion of the
club's tenth anniversary)
The year was 1945 and life for the residents of Tomball
was very different due to changes brought on by World War II. The last
automobile had rolled off the assembly line in early 1941 and gasoline was
unavailable without the coveted GASOLINE RATIONING STAMP. The same was true at
the grocery store where it was necessary to produce the proper
FOOD
RATIONING STAMP for many products chief among them, SUGAR! A visit to the
drygoods store created problems for the ladies as nylon and silk products were
seldom on the shelves. And for everyone, resoled shoes were the standard, not
the exception.
Victory gardens were everywhere. Boy Scouts collecting
paper and scrap iron for the war effort was a daily occurrence, as everyone
wanted to do his or her part for the war effort.
Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been elected to an
unprecedented fourth term as President of the
United States
. His untimely death in April of 1945 saw his unheralded vice-president Harry S.
"The Buck Stops Here!" Truman ascend to the highest office in the
country.
In rapid fashion, Victory in
Europe
came in May of 1945. And, with the ushering in of THE ATOMIC
AGE
at
Hiroshima
and
Nagasaki
,
Japan
, Victory in
Japan
came in August of 1945. The war had ended, peace was high on the agenda, and
the men and women who survived the war years returned home with a new leash on
the future.
This was the setting in which local banker, Allan H.
Keefer, Millard Ford, Sr., Will Holderrieth, A.B. Klein, Sr., and other business
leaders of the community "reckoned" that the efforts of the Tomball
Businessman's Club was insufficient in scope to address the economic development
needs of a growing business community. Contacts with Rotarians of Conroe, Texas
gave encouragement to the group that a Rotary Club was the answer to their
immediate and future needs of giving leadership and direction to the economic
development to their community, "
Oil Town
U.S.A.
",
Tomball
,
Texas
.
With the groundwork established, this group of hearty
and dedicated businessmen met at Swanson's Cave (City Cafe) on the evening of
October 24, 1945 to set the wheels in motion to finalize the chartering of
Tomball Rotary Club. As expected, Allan H. Keefer was named the Temporary
Chairman of the group and Harry Erwin was named the Temporary Secretary. For
each, the temporary was soon to be removed from their titles.
The Rotary Club of Conroe, Texas sponsored the group,
gave them guidance and on
November 8, 1945
, the Secretary of Rota International approved their application. However, the
Charter Meeting was not conducted until
December 27, 1945
.
The Charter Meeting was held in the
Humble
Recreation
Building
in the Humble Oil and Refining Camp south of Tomball. Chairman Allan H. Keefer
called the meeting to order promptly at 7:30 p.m. Twenty-three of the charter
members were present. Also present were District Governor Wiley Johnson and
members of the sponsoring Conroe Rotary Club. Charter Number 6118 was presented,
entertainment was presented by Walter
Jen
kins and friends, the newly-elected officers were installed, and Rotary was a
reality in
Tomball
,
Texas
!!
The foregoing
history was published in the Rotary Club of Tomball,
Texas
on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the club.
Ray Coffman, Editor.