Tim Vertz introduced Dr. Bob Jacobs who was inducted into the club in 1958. He is now working on 59 years of perfect attendance. Dr. George Witte was inducted in 1947. That is 70 years of Rotary membership. Together they have 129 years in our club.
Dr. Jacobs shared historical highlights from when our club was formed, displayed old and new club flags, and spoke about make-ups in Denmark, Jerusalem, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Japan. The dress code in foreign clubs is much more formal. He walked us through the time when Rotary was a good old boys club and wives/girlfriends were called Rotary Anns. It seems our club was once a hard-drinking club. Some members would show up at 10:30 to meet in the bar prior to the meeting. One past fundraiser included a community brat fry for many years. They raffled off a car full of beer and a canoe full of beer. In the beginning it was a stuffed moose head! According to Bob, Sandy Custer sold 3 foot long red licorice. In the 60s and 70s, the fundraiser was a Black Tie Dinner Dance and Auction.
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Bob also recounted our history with the boy scouts from 1937. The troop was disbanded after Pearl Harbor because most adult males had gone to war. In 1947, the troop was reinstituted.
He encouraged the club to find a club historian so our history is not forgotten.