Cogitator June 8, 2011

VISITING ROTARIANS

None.

GUESTS

Bob Greene's brother and former North Kingstown Rotarian, Russell Greene, joined us, as did Bob's grandson, Samuel Adams Greene.  Sam is Robert Allen Greene, Jr.'s son.     

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Happy birthday this week go to Seth Wilson (June 9th).  Also, happy anniversary to Pat (and Mike) Lenihan on June 15th.  And happy Golden Anniversary wishes to Andy (and Polly) Erickson, married June 10th, 1961!  

CLUB ANNIVERSARIES

Happy 1st year club anniversary to Ron Winde, who joined on this day in 2010.  Also, happy club anniversary to Mike Gemma, who joined the club on June 15th, 2003.  Mike will be installed as president next week on that same date, the 15th of June.   

INSTALLATION DINNER

Time and Place:  The East Greenwich Fireman's Hall, June 15th, 6pm cocktails, and dinner around 7pm.  Tickets are $40 per person, and $75 per couple.     

Come witness the peaceful presidential torch passing from Ed Neff to Mike Gemma, and enjoy a drink with some fine (Wild Harvest) food while overlooking Greenwich Cove.  Let's raise our glasses to President Ed Neff, for his phenomenal 2010-2011 year, while cheering on incoming president, Mike Gemma, as we look forward to yet another fantastic Rotary year ahead.  Officers and board members for the 2011-2012 Rotary Year will also be sworn in.  Finally, the 2010-2011 Bipin Pancholi Rotarian of the Year Award recipient will be announced.    

(Our future archives will surely record soaring Installation Night speeches and strong Rotary fellowship...but, we also hope that this special night will bring additional Rotarians' cheering...for the Boston Bruins' first Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years!) 

HAPPY BUCKS

Wil Yoder had a happy 'School's out for the Summer' (RISD) buck.

Mike Gemma gave a happy report on his trip to Rotary International's convention in New Orleans last week.

Jim Essex reminisced about...burning down a chicken coop in his youth with long time friend and guest, Russell Greene.  (Getting your first bicycle, swapping baseball cards, kissing a girl for the first time, and naturally...burning down your first 'coop.'  Ah, the old rites of passage...)  

Vin Meola gave three bucks: first, for help from Mike Balsamo and Bonnie Sauer in putting on a great Million Dollar Meal at the new Cole Middle School; secondly, for his June 6th D-Day birthday, which every year gives him a sense of gratitude toward our country's veterans; and thirdly, for the fantastic Red Sox tickets passed on by Mike Gemma--the game was a 14 inning thriller, and the good guys came out on top at Fenway.  

Mike Balsamo is happy that he and Erica will be helping out with the Installation Dinner.  Also, while one daughter (Sidney) was graduating from East Greenwich High School, his older daughter (Isabella) was traveling with the Brown University women's hockey team.  

PROGRAM/SPEAKER

Roberta Mudge Humble, CCRI Professor, and author of The RIght to Crow, A Look at RI's Firsts, Bests, and Uniques

Roberta Humble teaches technical writing and oral communications classes at the Community College of RI.  But, she is also an enthusiastic historian and author, interested in the many things of which Rhode Islanders can and should be proud. 

Notably, for us Rotarians, Roberta was also Rhode Island's first woman Rotary president, as well as the first woman on the East Coast to be sworn into Rotary International.     

Professor Humble went right to work, and our 'classroom' was given a fun-filled and interesting 34-question quiz on 'Rhode Island Facts.'  (I've been a Rhode Islander for 40 years now, and I only managed a C+.  Summer school for me.)

After the quiz, Roberta also presented with great pride and energy even more of RI's 'Firsts, Bests, and Uniques.'    

--Oldest indoor mall in America?  The Arcade in Providence.

--1st discount store?  Ann & Hope, in Warwick.

--1st department store?  Gladdings, in Providence.

--1st major league baseball champions?  The Providence Grays.  

--An original NFL football team?  The Providence Steamrollers.

--1st automobile race?  Cranston, RI, near the modern day Cranston Stadium.  It was also the first oval, asphalt track. 

--1st jailed automobile speeder?  A Rhode Islander.

--1st US naval battle?  Just off Block Island during the Revolutionary War.

--1st standing army unit in the colonies?  The RI First Artillery.  

--1st woman attorney general in the US?  Arlene Violet. 

--1st woman to run a newspaper?  Anne Smith Franklin (a relative of Benjamin Franklin).

--RI passed the first anti-slavery laws in 1652.  

--RI had 5 capitals at one time, which shared duties on a rotation basis: East Greenwich, Newport, Bristol, Providence, and South Kingstown. 

--Largest coastal fortification in the US?  Fort Adams, Newport, RI.  

--Rhode Island lays claim to 20% of the United States' Historical Sites.  

--Oldest shore dinner hall?  Rocky Point, or at least it was.  

--Oldest writing instrument company in the US?  A.T. Cross.  

--Largest toy company?  Hasbro, with GI Joe and Monopoly leading the way.  

--One of the 10 best airports in the country?  T.F. Greene Airport, located in Warwick (not Providence, as WE all know...now someone tell those pilots!).

--Largest sum of money paid for a 'low number' license plate?  $25,000.  (Only in RI.)

--Still the only state to celebrate Victory in Japan Day (VJ Day) on August 15th?  Rhode Island.

(Roberta Humble with friend Bob Greene and former student Samuel Adams Greene.) 

You may purchase Roberta's book, The RIght to Crow, for $10.  All proceeds go to the Westerly Armory Restoration Project.  

http://www.westerlyarmory.com/The%20Right%20to%20Crow.htm

http://faculty.ccri.edu/rhumble/background_of_roberta_mudge_humb.htm