11/20/15 Bits & Pieces
President Bowen called our meeting to order this week welcoming 68 members and 4 guests.
President Bowen recognized our members with November birthdays and we sang "Happy Birthday" to them.
.JPG)
Each week at Portland Rotary, we've been getting glimpses of the past, as we work our way through an episodic review of our club’s first century. With our ongoing series of weekly “history minutes,” we have time-traveled from 1915, the year we were founded, through a different year each Friday, exploring both the world in general, and the activities of our own club.
This past week, we reached the year 1939-40, where Tom Nickerson gave a brief history of the 1939-40 club year in lieu of the invocation. Tom pointed out that war was on everyone’s mind as Germany invaded Poland; and Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Culturally, Frank Sinatra was discovered in the summer of 1939 and the movies "Gone with Wind" and the "Wizard of Oz" debuted. Lou Gerhig put a face on ALS with his retirement that same summer.
The club was still meeting at the Falmouth Hotel. We had 120 members. All new members had to wear “baby doll” pins to highlight their status and encourage conversation with members. One featured speaker was Hans Schneider, who founded the ski school at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, NH, to discuss the growth of the skiing industry.
The club was still meeting at the Falmouth Hotel. We had 120 members. All new members had to wear “baby doll” pins to highlight their status and encourage conversation with members. One featured speaker was Hans Schneider, who founded the ski school at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, NH, to discuss the growth of the skiing industry.
.JPG)
Bruce Jones then gave us a brief look of what happened in 1940-41, the outset of WWII.
Military personnel and other experts, discussing topics such as the rise of Hitler, fascism, and the importance of Hawaii as a guardian of the US in the Pacific, dominated the roster of speakers at our meetings during that period. Of course the latter topic proved prophetic, as our members, like everyone in the country, soon found themselves reacting to the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
The history minutes also provide some interesting perspective on the evolution of life in Portland, where, in 1940, a typical house cost $3,800, and Rotary was providing a reading aloud program at Nathan Clifford School, combining the reading with a drive to collect glasses for kids with vision problems. While the projects have changed, the needs being met by the club have not, and the picture that emerges is that of a club just as active then as it is now.
Portland Rotary’s history minutes will continue on a weekly basis throughout our centennial year. We have established a YouTube channel, where members will have the ability to catch all the history moments in one place. Anyone interested in Club history will be able to watch our club’s development, year by year, with a simple click of the mouse on this page: www.youtube.com/channel/UCaoQnrssZxvECnKUVEGHjzg. This should make life easier for those documenting the club’s sesquicentennial in 2065.
.JPG)
Jerry Angier ran this week's raffle, having our speaker pull a member's name out of the bucket.....PTG (aka Paul Gore) was again the lucky person to try and find the elusive Queen of Hearts, but could not find her, so the pot continues to build.President Bowen thanked everyone involved in the task of our "on the road" details in moving our meetings to off-site locations.
.JPG)
Christine Force, Kathy Grammer, Paul Gore and Russ Burleigh were recognized with sponsor "dots" for bringing in new club members.
.JPG)
Speaking of new members, Peggy Wescott introduced our newest member, Lili (pronounced Lee-Lee) Brown. Lili is with Brown & Shepherd Consulting in Portland and is very energetic. She is eager to be in Rotary and participate in giving back to the community. Be sure to say "Hi" and welcome her to Portland Rotary.
Rob Chatfield told us of a special upcoming event: Portland Rotary Holiday Beverage Bazaar to be held on Tuesday, December 8th from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at Urban Farm Fermentory (fermentory.com/), 200 Anderson Street, Portland (Bayside District) – $20 admission includes unlimited samples of 16 rotating taps that will include naturally fermented cider, komboucha and honey mead, as well as fine food from 'The Cheese Iron' and 'Mainely Wraps.'
You may register and pay online by clicking HERE
For questions or further information, contact Rob Chatfield: robchat@exitstage.com
.JPG)
Jenni Nguyen, President of the Portland High School (PHS) Interact Club announced that she and another Interact member were proud to be going to the UN in NYC to represent Rotary.
President Bowen thanked everyone who participated in setting up and carrying off the Veterans' Day breakfast and rededication ceremony: Mike Fortunato, Peter Goffin, Tom Talbott, Russ Burleigh, Kathy Grammer, Loretta Rowe and Elise Hodgkin, as well as the many people who helped raise the funds to make it possible for us to treat our veterans. That said, due to the success of the event, PP Kris Rosado informed us that the club would like to continue this special event each year and, as incoming chair of the Fund Raising/Special Activiites, he was looking for volunteers who would like to be involved with the planning of this event for next year. We understand this is a great opportunity for us to show our respect for our veterans and the PR we receive from the media helps. Many hands went up to volunteer. If you would like to participate, contact Kris Rosado at: kris.rosado@morganstanley.com
President Bowen advised everyone that there were signup sheets on the tables to volunteer for the annual Thanksgiving serving of dinner at St Vincent De Paul's soup kitchen on Wednesday, Nov. 25. There were also signup sheets to volunteer to help with the ringing of the bells for the Salvation Army's annual "Red Kettle Drive." For either of these events, please contact Erik Greven at: egrev95@gmail.com