Our meeting started with the striking of the bell by President John Mayfield. Brother Dave Hartman was called upon to give the prayer followed by Cara Sauceda to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and song.
Monica Horton brought guest Stephany Alexander, who works in her BBB office. The Sunshine Report welcomed back long-time member Jim Hughes.
President John reminded the club about Veteran’s Day Meeting next week featuring the SAFB commander and to bring a Veteran guest.
Rod Tieken asked for clarification about a point in our revised Corporate Membership Bylaws. Three commendable brags were captured by Cara Sauceda carrying the Brag Bucket. Will Goodner’s son scored 3 touchdowns for his high school team last week and one more that was called back. David Kelley’s grandson, Charlie, was captured on video taking his first six steps. Our newest member Sara Sorge and Jule Day from Rotary North would like donations for their competitive food drive.
President John then presented a $4,000 check to Erica Mundt, director of Camp Fire. This contribution will help with Camp Fire’s ongoing projects and increasing costs of operation.
Our weekly Member Spotlight featured Jackie Lebow who has been a member since 1998. He is retired from his architectural firm which specialized in federal and state projects. Jackie has been married for fifty years to his high school sweetheart, a schoolteacher with thirty years of service. They have two sons and four granddaughters. Jackie is a fine choice to shine the Spotlight.
Pam Morgan, Professor of History at MSU and VP of the Museum of North Texas, provided a very interesting program about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, two of the baddest, gun shooting outlaws in American history. Wichita Falls was one of their home bases, along with several other guys of negative repute, because it was a wild country town and its location close to the Oklahoma state line. Now, Bonnie Parker came to Wichita Falls in the early thirties to meet her boyfriend, Clyde Barrow. Bonnie excelled in music and liked to write poetry. She told her parents she was going to the Falls for employment. Clyde Barrow was a high school dropout and nothing but trouble. They had met in Dallas while Clyde was already married. Clyde’s wife had left him because of his life of crime but she was well known by Dallas PD for drug use and prostitution. In Wichita Falls, B&C stayed in the area of today’s MPEC, hiding out in the Bungalow Tourist Park and a grocery store apartment on North Burnett St. They robbed people for money, stole cars to get away and looted armories so they actually had better firearms than the police. Clyde, being a smaller person, did not do well in his first prison term which was filled with “bad experiences”. Clyde was “not going back to prison”. Modern day Robin Hoods they were not. Rather they were violent killers. The Louisiana Law finally caught them in a hail of gunfire in1934.
Rod Tieken, with a matching challenge, completed our club’s Polio Plus Campaign, raising over $250. Now to work on our club’s Rotary Foundation Program.
We ended with the 4 Way Test.