This drizzly, damp, dreary day was interrupted by a “ray of sunshine” this noon, as we were greeted by Liz’s cheerful smile and warm words of welcome. Coupled with that, was a very entertaining program about “Building a Hurdy-Gurdy” given by Craig Hohm. Today, President-Elect John (French) filled in for President Bruce who is on vacation, getting some well-deserved “R and R”! PE John commenced the meeting with his call to rise for The Pledge. Unfortunately, we couldn't broadcast Facebook Live, and we later learned that FB had a worldwide outage.
For today’s Invocation, Sue shared the Prayer of St. Francis with us, hoping that each of us can be “an instrument of peace” throughout our lives. John also had to lead us in singing “God Bless America”, a favorite of many! As mentioned initially, Our Greeter today was pleasant, soft-spoken Liz. We welcomed guests, Craig, and JoAnne, who along with 18 Members, made up our group. John was a “Jack of All Trades”, as he did the Win-Win also, and Tom did the Rotary Moment.
The only announcement that was on today’s agenda was that the dispersing of funds for the Margery Pawluk Cancer Foundation and Hospeace House will be made at next week’s Evening Meeting.
Fellow Member, Rose introduced today’s speaker, Craig Hohm, whom she called “Inspirational” and a “he** of a nice guy”! Craig and Rose met one another through their work in Emergency Service at Thompson Hospital. In addition to his life-saving medical skills, Craig also possesses a talent for wood-working, thus, for those of us who didn’t know, we would learn what a “hurdy-gurdy” is! (He makes full-sized sailboats, as well!)
“Most people think of a guy with a monkey and a music box,” he began, “but a hurdy-gurdy is a wheeled fiddle!” He demonstrated how a crank runs a wheel which rubs the strings. The beautifully crafted fiddle is made from maple, and its design is exquisite! Giving a bit of background on the hurdy-gurdy, he explained that they are widespread in Europe, having a Moorish influence, and are found in Spanish churches. He said that a Seventeenth Century Scandinavian H-G inspired his creation.
Using detailed pictures, Craig showed the internal frame-work, and of how the rest of the H-G is glued to it to form a complete assembly. “It’s like building a boat,” he explained. The wheel and the axel all fit in place, and each of the two melody strings can be played individually.” For the “piece de la resistance”, Craig brought his delicately crafted hurdy gurdy to the Meeting, and he demonstrated how it worked! The melodious notes would make one think of bagpipes, as we listened to “Amazing Grace”! The instrument can be played either sitting or standing, and Craig even allowed interested Members to try the hurdy-gurdy out for themselves!! Many thanks to Craig for a stimulating presentation, and for lifting our spirits on this gloomy day!
An assortment of reasons was behind the many Happy Bills that were given, as the basket came around! Of course, we thoroughly enjoyed Craig’s delightful program. Craig’s video was appreciated. Mike’s music at the Grape Fest was awesome! The many volunteers from Naples Rotary and the Naples Historical Society at the Grape Fest meant a great deal. John and Sherry were glad to see so many Naples Rotarians at the Randall-Standish 50th Anniversary Celebration. Micah, Leandra, and their little guys were a hit! Many of us also enjoyed the Naples Open Studio Trail this past weekend.
Since Carrie had a “big win” last week, we started over with the Ace of Heart’s Winnings. Craig drew the Ticket #1694, which was Pat’s. She drew the Queen of Spades from the pack. In keeping with the musical theme for the day, John had the Win-Win ready! In what year was the saxophone developed? The answer was 1846! (Betting that our Dear Al Mann would’ve known that!!)
Just as we have the Four-Way Test, Tom had a “Four-Way Rotary Moment” for us this noon! Tom was talking about four “Unsung Heroes” who are JoAnne, Nancy, Skip, and Mike. Each of these special individuals had given a portion of his/her talents that helped to make the “return” of our Grape Fest successful. Nancy has devoted 33 years to offering her services at the Grape Fest. Skip took over the Wine Tent, having done a stellar job! JoAnne, for 12 years, has been a “workhorse” who has helped things to flow smoothly at the GF! Mike, with his phenomenal music at the GF, has kept the “spirit alive”! Also, Tom enjoyed working beside our Judy, who always looks so classy! “There is a special place in the Naples Valley!” noted Tom. “Working together is keeping us alive in spirit, and this is our Rotary story!’
Cheer up, Folks! The weatherman says we are going to see some sunshine on Wednesday😊!! Enjoy your week. We’ll meet for the Evening Meeting on Monday, October 11th, at 6:00, and we’ll be hearing about the Attica Prison Riot, a personal experience by Cindy S.
