SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS … Mark Rank introduced the club's scholarship winners from Pickens Technical College, Shannon Austgen and Amanuel Boku.  Shannon and Amanuel were selected from 17 applicants and they each received a $2,000 scholarship.  They each shared some of their journeys and expressed their gratitude to the club for the scholarships.  Shannon is studying mechanics and Amanuel is studying nursing.  Best wishes to both of them during their college careers!

PP Nancy Jones is taking orders for the blue cotton Rotary aprons (modeled by PP Betsy Jansen last week) for $30 each.  She also reminded us to bring in those slightly used shoes for the Coldwell Banker Soles for Souls shoe drive.  It more than just a shoe drive … the shoes are donated to entrepreneurs in third world countries for sustainable business projects. 

UPDATE YOUR PERSONAL PROFILES - Final reminder ... if you haven't done so, please make sure your contact information is up to date on the SHRC website.  To do that go to the Smoky Hill Rotary website: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/6789; click on Member Login (upper right corner); enter your login name (capitalized first letter of first name followed by last name in all lower case followed by 6789) or click Forgot Login Name?); enter your password or click Forgot Password?; click on Member Area (upper right corner); under My ClubRunner click on Edit My Profile; under Member Profile click on Edit; when done editing click on Save. 

This is Not a Time for Us to Say … 

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

Stanley Turner, President of the Aurora Museum Foundation ("AMF") and Maury Miller provided a presentation on the history of the trolley system in Aurora and the restoration of Trolley Trailer No. 610.  The Aurora horse car era ran from 1871-1884 followed by the electric and cable car era from 1885-1900.  The trolley car Colfax railway running down Colfax into Aurora existed from 1887-1932.  University of Denver students operated the trolley cars and were known as the "trolley tech" students.  The Fitzsimons Bus & Taxi service was started by Aurora's own A.G. "Pop" Stitt and his partner L.C. Conner and it was one of the first such services in Denver.  

After its railway service, Trolley Trailer No. 610 became the Perrott Family home from 1950-2006.  It was then donated, renovated and moved to the Aurora History Museum. Maury Miller and 15 other individuals spent more than 4,500 hours over more than 2 years to restore the trolley.  Every piece and part had to be labeled to make sure it was put back correctly.  It was a very dirty, daunting task but fortunately, someone in the group of 16 always had the expertise to handle the task at hand.  One end of the trolley had to be completely rebuilt.  White oak was used and some parts had to be harvested from other trolley cars. Thousands of brass fittings had to be cleaned with either ketchup, mustard, pickle juice or vinegar!  According to Maury, it was "a labor of love".  Trolley Trailer No. 610 was built in 1913.

The Aurora History Museum was founded in 1979 and the AMF was founded in 1989.  The AMF is a advocate for broad-based funding and community support to ensure the continued viability of the Aurora History Museum.  From 2013-2017 the AMF raised over $154k in donations through events such as the annual Antique Appraisal Fair and Festival of Wreaths.  There are ways we can support the museum and foundation:  join the AMF for $25 per year, volunteer at the museum or foundation or become a AMF board member.  Go to www.auroramuseumfoundation.org.