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2009 Archives and New 2009 Features |
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| August 2009 August is Membership
and Extension -- a time to highlight membership development and the creation
of new Rotary clubs. That said, here’s Paul Harris on the matter of
Extensions. |
| August 2009 Second Issue
"Friendship Trees" |
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What Paul
Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 12 July 2009
Dear Friends,
It is July and the beginning of a new Rotary year. Using
www.historysearch.org, I found something written in July by Paul Harris.
Here is what Rotary founder Paul Harris had to say in July of 1912, the year
that the National Association of Rotary Clubs changed its name to the
International Association of Rotary Clubs.
At our next RI convention, in
Montreal, Canada, we will celebrate the 100th year since Paul Harris, Ches
Perry, and 16 Rotary clubs created N.A.R.C...
“What is Rotarianism?
There
are already more than Six Thousand answers to that question and there are
many, many more to follow. How do I make that out? There are more than Six
Thousand Rotarians in the world and many more to come. Each has his own
individual conception of Rotarianism and he will continue to have it even if
a brief concise definition of the word be generally accepted. You can't hold
Rotarianism in words any longer than you can hold the spirit of brotherly
love in a bushel basket.” Paul P. Harris, writing the July 1912 issue of the
National Rotarian.
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/rotarian/1912julymessages.htm
Today there are 200 times more Rotarians than in 1912. If we continue to
answer Paul’s question, perhaps in the next decade there will be 2,000,000
members. The growth of Rotary was rapid in the early years. According to the
Appendix of the first edition of “My Road to Rotary,” in twelve more years
the membership had increase nearly 17 fold. By 1930, there was another fifty
percent increase to 150,000. By 1938, despite the depression, another 50,000
had become Rotarians. Shortly after Paul’s death, the 1948 total was
320,000. However, as Rotary Founder Paul Harris noted, the most important
means of Rotarianism lies with each of us.
Next week, watch for “Our
Foundation Newsletter,” and the week after for “Rotary Global History Day”
Want to have your own Rotary Global History Day? See
www.11october.org to
learn more. Our first international Rotary Global History Day will be in
Cairo, Egypt Saturday 3 October 2009. Special tours of the sites of Cairo
will be arranged for Rotarians at that event. Hold the date, more details to
follow. If you want more information, just respond to this email.
Yours in service through Rotary Global History,
Jack Selway, 2009/10
History Coordinator, RGHF Founder, and Chair Emeritus
Bio:
www.historyfounder.org
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History)
This feature is from Rotary Global History
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EARLY
EDITION FOR ALL CONVENTION GOERS: What Paul Harris Said - at the first
convention of Rotary - 100 years ago. For: Sunday 21 June, sent early for
the convention.
What Paul
Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 21 June 2009
Paul Harris
speaks from the first Rotary International Convention. As the 100th
Convention at Birmingham gets underway, we go back to Paul’s words at the
first convention of Rotary in 1910.
FIRST SESSION
Monday,
August 15, 1910.
The Convention was called to order at 10 o'clock a.
m., in the Green Room of the Congress Hotel, by Mr. Paul P. Harris, Chairman
of the National Board of Commissioners, Mr. Chesley R. Perry, Secretary of
the National Board of Commissioners, acting as Secretary. The full text of
the proceedings follows:
Chairman Harris. Delegates from North,
South, East and West, delegates from all parts of the United States: We have
been called here to organize a national association of Rotary Clubs, and we
have a great deal of business to transact. It will not be an occasion of
long addresses. We of the Chicago club do not believe very much in oratory.
We believe that an orator is a man who intoxicates himself with his own
emotions and is likely to say a great many things he had not intended to
say.
-----------------------------
And so it began, the
conventions of Rotary, that is. Paul Harris chose his words carefully. That
is clear in all of his writing. But, for the record, that’s the beginning of
the first speech at a Rotary Convention, 100 years ago. You can read the
entire speech and learn more about that first-ever convention at
www.rotaryfirst100.org/presidents/conventions/1910/ There were sixty
Rotarians in attendance from 15 of the 16 existing clubs.
This
month, RGHF begins a ten-year salute to the first 100 clubs of Rotary. They
were the first, and still going.
www.rotaryfirst100.org Follow the centennials with RGHF.
Yours
in service through Rotary Global History,
Jack Selway, Founder and Chair
Emeritus
(Selway can be contacted though
www.historycomment.org)
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History)
This feature is from Rotary Global History
Fellowship www.rghf.org
Many of our subscribers are not RGHF members, but can join at
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Our monthly feature on What Paul Harris Said follows, but first the
members of RGHF would like to invite all attendees at the Birmingham
Convention to attend our annual awards event. Time: 4:30 PM Saturday 20
June. Place: House of Friendship Hospitality Area. RGHF member & PRIP
Wilf Wilkinson will be greeting you and presenting awards to RI?s
President Nominee Ray Klinginsmith, USA; and RIBI's President Elect
David Fowler, UK. We ask that Rotarians and guests please RSVP to this
mailing or send a message at
www.historycomment.org so that we can plan for this event. There
will be a small donation requested for refreshments.
What Paul Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 31 May 2009
What Paul Harris said
about Birmingham, UK
[Paul Harris] All roads lead to
London, and there I soon found myself. At the station, under the leadership
of Tom Stephenson and Vivian Carter, were many of the most distinguished men
in British Rotary. Some I had met in my own country, others were familiar in
name only; all bid me enthusiastic welcome. It was an honour beyond my
deserts, but it bore testimony of the high esteem in which Rotary is held in
the gigantic British Metropolis.
Two feverish days in the enjoyment
of British hospitality followed. I wish that space permitted a more detailed
account. I will mention only pilgrimages to the home of Charles Dickens and
another to the Old Curiosity Shop, on the Saturday. On Sunday morning it was
my privilege to see a delegation of 275 British and Continental Rotary
enthusiasts off for the International Convention. They were a happy and
highly representative party. Monday morning found me speeding on my way to
Birmingham, where, under the arrangement made by R.I.B.I. Headquarters and
as guest of R.I.B.I., I was to make my maiden British speech. When the time
came I did my turn, and at its conclusion resolved that I had better tune up
or quit. The next day in Belfast, after a poor night?s rest while crossing
the Channel, I spoke again, with the result that I regained some of my
ebbing self-respect, and during the afternoon drove with Belfast Rotarians
to the Giant?s Causeway. [Learn more about Paul Harris? trip
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/library/europe1928/ ]
Then join past
Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson, Canada, an RGHF member,
Saturday 20 June at 4:30 PM, in the House of Friendship, at the convention
in Birmingham. We will be presenting
www.1905society.org
awards to RIPN Ray Klinginsmith, USA; and RIBI President Elect David Fowler,
UK. If Paul were alive, we?re sure he?d be there. You can also meet RGHF
members at booth 853.
Yours in service through Rotary Global
History,
Jack Selway, RGHF Founder & Chair Emeritus
Selway can be
contacted at
www.historycomment.org
_________________
This article was posted
by the RGHF Forum Administration
Become a member:
www.joinrghf.org
Contact:
www.historycomment.org
Committee:
www.historycommittee.org
Find history:
www.historysearch.org
RGHF Grants:
www.rghf.org/grants
RGHF:
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History) |
Sunday 10 May 2009
During his lifetime, Rotary International Founder Paul P. Harris received
many awards. Most of them are displayed at Rotary International headquarters
and the RGHF site at
www.harrisoffice.org and click on: Awards
Harris’ appreciation
for these recognitions is acknowledged by references to them in his last
book: My Road to Rotary, found at
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org
Napoleon Bonaparte pointed out the
importance of awards when he said: A soldier will fight long and hard for a
bit of colored ribbon.
There are many Rotarians who proudly wear
awards received from their fellow Rotarians. RGHF, Rotary Global History
Fellowship has, since 2002, had its own award for support of history. Found
at www.1905society.org
are those who have accepted this award. A 1905 Liberty V nickel given to
individuals who have supported the role that history plays in strengthening
Rotary around the world.
At the 100th convention of Rotary
International, a past recipient, PRIP Wilf Wilkinson, Canada; and past RGHF
chair Calum Thomson, Scotland, will present this award to RI President
Nominee
Ray Klinginsmith, USA and
RIBI
President Elect David Fowler, UK. The presentation, open to all attendees in
Birmingham, will be at 4:30 PM, Saturday 20 June.
_________________
Yours in service through Rotary Global History,
Jack
Jack M.
B. Selway, RGHF Founder
Chairman Emeritus
Ex Officio Board
and
executive committee counsel
Residence: Pueblo, CO USA |
What Paul Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 19 April 2009
[Paul Harris on joining a club] Whether or not it is dishonorable to
join a club for business purposes depends upon the club, its principles and
what one professes to join it for. There is no more culpability about
joining a business club for business purposes than there is about joining a
social club for social purposes, an athletic club for athletic purposes, or
a political club for the acquisition of a pull. [Paul Harris 1911]
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/rotarian/rational.htm The National
Rotarian, Vol. 1, January 1911.
This is where it started, the very
first issue of The Rotarian as we know it today. Now RGHF carries on
preserving the vast history of men and women who joined Rotary, whatever
their reasons. Come to the 2009 convention and meet the Rotarians who are
telling the story of Rotary again and again at booth 853.
Yours in
service through Rotary Global History,
Jack Selway, RGHF Founder & Chair
Emeritus
Selway can be contacted at
www.historycomment.org
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History)
|
Sunday 29 March 2009
Paul Harris in Birmingham
http://www.rotaryfirst100.org/clubs/clubs-with-conventions/birmingham/harris.htm
If Paul Harris were alive, he would certainly be found at booth 853
at the 2009 Convention in Birmingham. He loved history, you see that by
reading his books, found at
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org and we’re sure that he’d enjoy meeting those
at the Rotary Global History booth, and the RI Rotary History & Archives
booth. All of us are working to ensure that all of Rotary’s history is
preserved for the benefit of young leaders starting on their own Road to
Rotary.
Paul Harris on history and words of wisdom for
today’s economy:
[Paul Harris] The present days will be
recorded in history as days of great depression. All men are yearning for
the return of prosperity. Adversity is ever an unwelcome guest. Yet it is
neither more food, nor more clothing which is needed. The granaries are full
to bursting; the problem of manufacturers is to slow production down from a
breathless run to an enjoyable walk. It is in rational work, whether mental
or physical, that health and happiness is to be found. The Creator has never
revealed a more wholesome outlet than this for pent up energies; work is
nature's own specific and yet, as with every other
good thing, it can be
sadly misused, grievously abused.
The world is not so much in need
of great production as it is in need of a right about faith in its view of
life. The glorification of the material has been tried and found wanting. If
it may become the purpose of men, each in his own way, to achieve spiritual
instead of material results, the storms of adversity need never be feared
and prosperity will have a new and abiding meaning.
Rotary is one of
the means to that end.
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/rotarian/1931viennaconvention.htm
The words of Paul Harris 78 years ago… In this generation the breathless
run Harris wrote about might be the way in which the financial markets
oversold their wares. Study history and learn from the past. And then plan
to visit with those who preserve all the history of Rotary at booth 853 in
Birmingham. Our special guest will be past RI President Wilf Wilkinson,
himself an RGHF member.
Yours in service through Rotary Global
History,
Jack Selway, RGHF Founder & Chair Emeritus
Selway
can be contacted at
www.historycomment.org
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History)
_________________
This article was posted by the RGHF
Forum Administration
Become a member at
www.joinrghf.org
Contact:
www.historycomment.org
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary
Global History)
Committee and Domains
www.historycommittee.org
Find all history at
www.historysearch.org |
 Posted:
07 Mar 2009 08:24 am
Post subject: March 2009 THIS ROTARIAN AGE. |
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Special notice to our thousands of
subscribers:
RGHF membership: Many of our subscribers
are certain that they are members of RGHF. There’s one very easy way
to see if you are a member. Visit the RGHF Roster at
www.rotaryhistoryfellowship.org/discussion/memberlist.php Next,
under SELECT SORT METHOD, select USER NAME then look alphabetically
for your first name. If your name is not there, then you are not a
member of RGHF. At conventions we see hundreds of people who believe
that they are members, but are only on our subscriber list. If you
are not there, visit
www.joinrghf.org
and follow a simple two step process to join. You are needed to help
Rotary Global History.
-----------------------------------------------
What Paul
Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 8 March 2009
Rotary’s founder was human, with all the frailties of persons. In
1935, he published his second book This Rotarian Age. On page 200 of
the excellent book on Rotary Harris wrote the following: The first
sixty-seven years of the writer’s life have been high times. He
wouldn’t have missed them for anything. During the last four years
he has been on the retired list, so far as his law practice is
concerned; the result of a nervous breakdown caused by over-drawing
his account. After he had liquidated his obligations to nature for
overwork, he contracted another for over-rest before he eventually
succeeded in getting his books balanced. He is now transacting his
business on a cash basis, and enjoying life. Manifestly he must get
back into business if he is ever to be at leisure again.
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/library/rotarianage/rotarianage.htm
In spite of massive heart attacks in 1912 and 1928, and the
breakdown of 1935, Harris continued to work for Rotary, and in the
30’s did some of his best writing, and traveled the world at the
request of the board. Rotary Global History (RGHF) has documented
nearly everything Harris wrote at
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org and now the manager of that section
has begun to convert the books into PDF files. What we had, and will
continue to have online are historic reproductions of Harris’ work,
scanned from the original books. Now Mike Raulin (a publisher) is
creating easier to read books in PDF format to download and read. A
remarkable contribution to Rotary Global History.
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/library/rotarianage/pdf.htm
[Mike’s response] Thank you for your kind words. My goal is to
produce something that is easy to download and easy to read, yet
still captures all of the richness of Paul Harris's writing. If my
experience is a gauge, reading these books gives you a new
appreciation for Rotary and the remarkable people who made it a
reality. Mike Raulin, USA, coordinator and webmaster for
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org
When you visit the PDF page,
be sure to read Mike’s insightful editor’s introduction. It is
excellent.
Yours in service through Rotary Global History,
RGHF www.rghf.org
(Rotary Global History)
Most Subscribers are not RGHF
members, but can become members of RGHF at
www.joinrghf.org
New articles at RGHF
www.recentposts.org
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What Paul
Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 8 February 2009
World
Understanding Month
…Rotary does yeoman service in countless other
ways as well. Note how it is spreading knowledge of the United Nations,
wherein civilization itself is at stake. How could Rotary do otherwise? The
delegates are assembled to promote international understanding and goodwill.
This is the very heart's core of Rotary teaching. Rotarians were members of
20 delegations and chairman of seven of them at the San Francisco meeting of
the United Nations. More power, more power to you, my beloved Rotary! [Paul
P. Harris in The Rotarian February 1947]
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/rotarian/twoscore.htm
Paul
Harris had been dead since 27 January, when this issue of The Rotarian
rolled out. It was too late to change anything, so his last article, as his
last book [My Road to Rotary] was published after his death. 62 years ago
now… As we recognize World Understanding Month, I suggest reading at least
one of Paul’s three books at
www.whatpaulharriswrote.org His wisdom, and that of other Rotary leaders
is there for the ages.
I would suggest that if you truly want to be
a Rotarian, find out what Rotary is by studying Rotary Global History. In
the same way you would also study medicine to become a fine medical
professional. Rotarians are needed to mend a sorely wounded world.
Please pass this on to your district’s incoming governor. It will help that
future Rotary officer to serve all of us better.
_________________
Yours in service through Rotary Global History,
Jack
Jack
Selway, RGHF Founder & Chairman Emeritus
RGHF Honorary Member
Residence: Pueblo, CO USA |
What Paul Harris Said
www.whatpaulharrissaid.org
Sunday 18 January 2009
The death of Paul Harris’ Grandfather, Howard Harris of Wallingford Vermont.
I wondered how death must seem to one who must soon face it; would it seem
so terrible as it did to me? Grandfather had nothing to say on the subject;
I had done pretty well to get him to talk that much. Had I been less
tempestuous in nature and less interested in the amazing things I was
finding in life, I would have looked well to it that I added nothing to
grandfather's burdens, but I am sorry to relate that my affectionate
outbursts were not so frequent as they might have been and that most of the
time, I was just a boy well tuned to fun and mischief and to little else.
Despite all my misdemeanors and not infrequent relapses into savagery, there
was a warm spot in the heart of grandfather for his erring grandson. One day
when I was at my worst, grandfather told Mary Foley as she was working in
the kitchen at her pots and pans, [that boy will make his mark in the
world.]
Many long years after grandfather's death, there came to me a small
well-preserved leather covered memorandum book containing a brief summary of
his financial standing on the first of January each year beginning with 1826
and continuing until 1888, the year of his death. Inscribed without date on
one of the pages were the words: [For Ma and Paul.] It was an eloquent
testimonial of the careful planning and self-denial which made his
benefactions possible. [From My Road to Rotary, Paul P. Harris 1947 Chapter
20 Page 138]
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/library/myroad/ Excellent reading!
COMMENT: A week from this next
Tuesday, 27 January will mark the 62nd year since Rotary founder Paul Harris
died. If you read My Road to Rotary, or any of the other books online,
you’ll find that Howard Harris formed the boy who became the man with
Rotary’s vision. It is a story that every Rotarian should read. Every
president of every club should know how we started. The story is inspiring,
Harris is a remarkable writer and all of Rotary should read and re-read his
work. Some day Rotary Global History will be taught to incoming district
governors at the International Assembly. That is my prayer for the good of
Rotary. Then they can teach their presidents.
But why wait, every Rotarian in the world can read Harris’ books, online
24/7, free. They can be down loaded, printed, shared, and Rotarians will be
all the better for the effort.
http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org
Yours in service through Rotary Global History,
Jack Selway
Founder & Chair Emeritus
Contact Selway at
www.historycomment.org
RGHF
www.rghf.org (Rotary Global History)
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