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Rotary Club of White Rock

Selective history of items gathered by Alison Smith from material in the Club’s Archives:  1955 to 1960


1955-56 

Charter President - Martin Deacon

The District Governor asked The Rotary Club of New Westminster to start a new club.

New Westminster citizens knew White Rock well: they flocked to the beach in the summer, some had cottages on the beach, some came to motels, and some camped illegally on the beach.

Since 1934 the New Westminster Club had run a camp for underprivileged children on leased land on the Semiahmoo Indian Reserve.

At the same time, the Canadian Bank of Commerce Manager, Martin Deacon, had been transferred from Burns Lake where he had started a Rotary Club. In the Spring of 1955 he got together with Judge John Hunter, who also had Rotary Experience, and with Simon Cameron (Business, Land Investment).

With the help of New Westminster Rotarians they gathered some 30 businessmen together and exploratory meetings were held at the Silver Moon Hall, above the curling rink near the beach.

The rule at that time was that there could only be one member per classification per Club. There is more than one way to skin the cat: different classifications under, for example, Medicine could be Medicine, General Practice; Medicine, Surgeon; Medicine, Radiology; Medicine, ENT.

Don Crawford, who was the local optometrist, is the only Charter Member still living as of 2015. He lives in a retirement home in Langley and has been made a Life Member. One of the last times Don attended one of functions was for our 50th Anniversary, held at Pacific Inn in 2005.

On June 2, 1955, The Rotary Club of White Rock was chartered under the sponsorship of The Rotary Club of New Westminster, with 34 members. We became a Member Club of District 151; the fourth Club south of the Fraser River; the others being Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Hope.

Who could have guessed that 60 years later there would be 5 Rotary Clubs in the small area of the White Rock and South Surrey peninsula?

In 1956 District 151 was split, with the new District being District 152. In 1957, a world-wide renumbering was undertaken by Rotary International. Our district was designated District 504 with no changes to the boundaries.

Because of the increase of over 50% in the number of Clubs since 1973, District 504 was split as of July 1st, 1987, roughly along the Fraser River from Hope westward, becoming District 505. There were 15 Clubs in BC and 17 in Washington.

Since the Rotary Club of White Rock was formed in 1955, the original District 151 has now become five Districts, and the 70 clubs at that time grew to approximately 200 clubs with over 13,000 members.

The Rotary Club of White Rock was an enthusiastic group that boded well for the future of Rotary in White Rock.

The members chose support of youth as their main goal. To raise money the hat was passed at Charter Night, collecting $18.79. At the inflation rate of 3.74%, this amount today is $164.00. All we know about their next fundraising effort - trudging up and down the steep hills and knocking on doors to sell light bulbs - is that it was not successful.

It became obvious to their wives that they would have to become involved, forming their own group. They were used to working for no pay; cooking, cleaning, childrearing, milking cows, tending gardens and orchards, nursing the sick, et altera. The women got together at the Silver Moon on Washington Avenue (now Marine Drive East) on February 21, 1956, and elected the executive of the first Rotary Anns of White Rock, sponsored by the New Westminster Rotary Anns.

On March 7, 1956, President Mrs. Rodger Talbot and her Executive were installed at a Rotary Club Ladies’ Night. Al Hogg gave the toast to the feminine guests. Mrs. Ken Middleton responded, according to The Semiahmoo Sun.

The Charter was presented to the Club at its Inaugural Meeting on July 5, 1955. The Peace Arch News shows 202 people present. The project decided upon was the Youth Centre on Johnston Road at Hilltop (close to 20th Avenue and into the bush), mostly used by Girl Guides and Boy Scouts.   Fundraisers: sale of light bulbs door-to-door, car washes.

In January, 1956, the Rotary Anns held a rummage sale to help fund the Youth Centre.
 

1956-57

President -  John Hunter 
Vice President - Rodger Talbot
Secretary - Charlie Caldwell
Treasurer - Simon Cameron
Director - Al Hogg
Director - Cec Parsons
Director - Dudley Evans

Pres. John had joined Rotary in 1921; he was presented with 50 Years of Service Award in 1971.
 

1957-58

President - Rodger Talbot 
Vice President - Al Hogg

President Rodger accepted a missionary position in Japan in March 1958, and Vice President Al became President Al

Rotary International President Charles (Buzz) Tennent said "The Rotary Club is the medium of expression for the programme of Rotary, th.e Training ground for the individual; it is the team upon which that individual plays; it is the light that leads the way to service. As a Rotarian the emphasis in on you, for you are the one who must give expression to the ideal of service by living it, by daily translating it into your life and the lives of others." (Editor’s note: this is similar to 2014-15 Theme: "Light Up Rotary")
 

1958-59

President - Al Hogg
Vice President - Jack Jones
Secretary - Charles Caldwell
Director - Don Crawford
Director - Bert McAdam
Director - Ken Thompson

Of the 35 Charter Members, only 16 remained in 1958-59, resulting in considerable change in the ethos of the Club.

Special events included: Gold Tournament at Peace Portal, a Curling Bonspiel, Ladies’ Night, Stag Night and the Christmas party.

Projects undertaken include the Youth Centre, Little league, Sea Festival, Adventures in Citizenship, The Rotary Foundation, Historical Society, and Blood Clinics. The curling foursome of Tass Russell, Al Hogg, Archie McArthur, and Bob Tingle went to the District Bonspiel in Hope, bringing home first prize: beautiful cut glass vases.

The first Roster was published.

In partnership with the Rotary Club of Abbotsford, White Rock chartered the Rotary Club of Langley.

The year started with an albatross around the club’s neck: the purchase of an old building on Johnston Road to use as a youth club house. The adult leader was transferred with no one to succeed. This resulted in monthly payments still to be paid. There were limited funds to spend on other projects. Number 1 was to sell the property and no loss. This was done with a small profit.

Rotarian Ray Williams, the Hospital Administrator, was the permanent Secretary. At the beginning of each meeting he put before the President a typed agenda with all the necessary and pertinent information. The job of President (Al Hogg) was very easy.

As a result of meeting at the District Conference at Harrison Hot Springs, the Presidents of the White Rock and Sedro Woolley Clubs decided a joint meeting would be a good idea. Held at the Peoples Hotel in Bellingham, this proved to be another highlight of the year. 21 members and wives attend from White Rock. Franklin Johnson provided the entertainment.

Projects: major one was the Youth Centre, $1,468; others included Little League, $200;

Adventures in Citizenship, $276; Historical Society, $24. Financially the expenditures were $1,968. Fund raisers: pool, bingos, bake sales held by wives. The membership was under 30.

Fund raising continues to focus on helping the young people. Car washes were not very successful but they were enjoyable and good for fellowship. Pools and raffles raised a bit of money, with the President not happy about the gambling. The women held rummage sales (similar to today’s garage sales).

Of the 35 Charter Members only 16 remained in 1958-59. Club dues were $25 per year, and just as difficult to collect.
 

1959-60

President - John Jones
Vice President - Bert McAdam
Past President - Al Hogg
Director - Don Crawford
Director - Ken Thompson
Director - Charles Caldwell.

(Editor's note:  Other positions were not filled.)

During the months of January and February we had an attendance contest with Langley.  Results were: Langley, 96.475%; White Rock, 97.40% (sic 96.40% is better mathematically) - less than 1% difference, but Langley hosted us for dinner.

Twenty members and their ladies attended the Langley / Peace Arch Barbecue which had about 400 total attendance.

Meetings were held at the Silver Moon Curling Rink across from the post office on Marine Drive. The Silver Moon was owned by Len Long, who was a members of the club.

Special events during the year were: a Golf tournament at Peace Portal Golf Course; a Curling Bonspiel; Ladies Night; Stag Night, and the Christmas Party.

Projects undertaken included the Youth Centre, Little league, Sea Festival, Adventure in Citizenship, and the Rotary Foundation. We also held a Competitor-Associate luncheon attended by 20 guests.

A highlight of the year was our entry into the Annual Rotary District Bonspiel held at Hope. Our team with Tass Russell, skip with Al Hogg, Archie mcArthur and Bob Tingle brought home first prize - beautiful cut glass vases.

It was decided to publish a Roster so the first Club Roster was produced.

At the start of the year, the poor club had an albatross around its neck. Some years before we purchased the old Ahlstrom building on Johnston Road (where the Volkswagen dealership now stands) to use as a youth club house.

There was an active leader in the area who would direct the activities at the club. The leader was transferred to year before the project was fully operational, but we still had to keep up the payments. They were a continual drain on the club finances and limited the funds we had available for projects.

The circumstances were disconcerting to the new club members so our number one priority for the year was to sell the building and not take a loss. We succeeded and even made a small profit!


1960-61

Thank you to Alison Smith for her efforts and results over the years in gathering this information for the 60^th Anniversary of the Rotary Club of White Rock.