History: a study of the club archives

“Rotary: 1923-1929 ”

Rotary in the World

While a wheel has been used as the Rotary emblem since the organization's beginnings in 1905, it has taken on various forms over the early years until 1923 when it took on the form we see today. It was formally adopted at the 1929 convention in Dallas. (In 1910, each of the 16 Rotary clubs had their own designs. A single design was adopted in 1912. In 1920 engineers said the emblem was an unsound wheel, then in 1923 the keyway was added—we’ve been rolling ever since!)

In 1927, the four avenues of service became a part of the Rotary program–Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.

In 1928, the Rotary Foundation was formally established. It was conceived in 1917, largely being attributed to Arch C. Klumph.

In 1929, Rotarians in Copenhagen initiated the International Youth Exchange, sending 15 to 19 year olds across borders for an academic year or for an extended holiday to foster international understanding. Our club has just sponsored its first Youth Exchange, sending Laura Newland to Ecuador and Rebecca Rodger to Austria (Summer 2006).

In the 1920s, Rotary developed programs to help children and disabled persons, and these helped lead to the founding of the International Society for Crippled Children (known today as Rehabilitation International), and also to the formation of the National Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children, which grew out of Rotary sponsored projects in New York and Ohio.

Rotary in Alabama

In 1923, the first conference in District 26 was held in Birmingham with Gov. Thomas in charge– 327 men and 196 women attended! During this year, charters were delivered to clubs in Demopolis and Jasper. An “All-Alabama Rotary Day" was held in Mobile on November 17. Gov. Turner reported that “Haygood Patterson of Montgomery brought the most beautiful posies and decorated every Rotarian until one would have thought it was the Auburn football team on parade after winning from Tech.”

District Conferences were held in Tuscaloosa (1924), Mobile (1925), Huntsville (1926), Pensacola (1927), Anniston (1928), and Montgomery (1929).

New clubs were formed: Ensley (1924), Aliceville (1925), Russellville and Enterprise (1926), Auburn (1927), and Decatur and Marianna, FL (1929).

Report of the History Committee for August 2006