THE ROTARY CLUB OF CHARLOTTE I 1916-1991 Our Time and Place By ROBIN A. SMITH lr BEGAN on a chilly night in Charlotte on December could realize the impact Rotary would make in Char­ 5, 1916. A small group of businessmen ·with a vision lotte, in North Carolina, in their nation and in their met at the Selwyn Hotel at the corner of West Trade world. None could foresee the dramatic changes that and Church streets in the city's bustling business dis­ were to impact the present and shape the future. trict. Thomas B. McAdams of Richmond, VA, ranking During the seven and a half decades that would fol­ Rotarian of the province, presented President Rogers low, two \!Vorld \!Vars would ravage the planet. Count­ \V. Davis a charter for the nation's newest Rotary club less other military conflicts would alter boundaries and - The Rotary Club of Charlotte. It was the 256th bring us to the brink of nuclear annihilation. Space Club in the world. travel would become common. Jet airplanes would be­ According to a report by The Charlotte Observer, come the norm. Polio would be conquered throughout the meeting was well attended with a dinner that vvas the world with a life-saving vaccine. African-Americans "the most delightful that Charlotte has known in a would be granted civil rights. Women would win the long while. The music was fine and the fellowship of right to vote by Congress ... and become Rotarians. those present inspiring." During those same 75 years, the United Nations Months prior to that eventful Charter Night sup­ would be established. Computers, fax machines and per, the group had met to organize a Rotary club in overnight delivery would become standard operating their growing southern city. Directors were elected, procedure for companies and individuals. The AIDS members recruited, and the first Board meeting was epidemic would rage. A global economy would be h eld on October 28, 1916. In just six short months, within reach, and the fall of Communism and its bas­ The Rotary Club of Charlotte had become a reality. tion, the Soviet Union, a reality. Of the five original local promoters, ironically, only three became members: C. 0. Kuester, manager of Charlotte's economy and population received a great Kuester-Lowe Company (wholesale grocery); Charles boost in 191 7. Troops had to be trained for service in A. 'Williams, Sr., president of Williams-Shelton Co. \Vorld \!Var I, and Charlotteans seized the opportunity (wholesale dry-goods); and J. Perrin Quarles, manager to be of service. They lobbied hard to get a base in the of The Equitable Life Assurance Society. Captain John area, and won. Camp Greene opened that summer. The A. Parker, an attorney, was ordered to Texas along with camp housed up to 60,000 men during its two-year his National Guard company to quell the dispute with existence, a larger population than the city proper. Mexican bandit Pancho Villa. In a tragic airplane ac­ Through it all, Rotarians have been agents of change, cident, Parker was killed. Frank Lethco, president of leaders as circumstances would demand. From 1916 to Charlotte Laundry, never joined. Clarence ("Booster") 1918, members of The Rotary Club of Charlotte sought Kuester became the executive vice president of the to improve conditions at the county jail. The mem­ newly reorganized Charlotte Chamber of Commerce a bership also concerned itself with entertaining the of­ short while later, in 1919. fic ers serving at nearby Camp Greene. Charlotte was a textile-oriented city, so members kept close tabs on As HI orld War I raged in Europe, President Wood­ agricultural issues and educational concerns of the day. row Wilson won his reelection bid on the platform, Funds were quickly raised to benefit Davidson College. "He h.ept us out of ·war." "[Vlr. Peanut" was introduced And then there was the ongoing passion for sports. by Planters Nut and Chocolate Company, and Coca­ Charlotte Rotarians appointed a committee to explore Cola adopted its distinctive bottle sh.ape th.at would the opportunity of bringing a baseball club to Char­ identify th.e soft drink to th.e present day. lotte. The more things change, the more they remain As the first Charlotte Rotarians sat for the eight the same. As the 75th Anniversary year passed, Char­ o'clock inaugural supper at the Se!vvyn Hotel, none lotte would be in the running for an NFL team, and 15 Our Time and Place talk at Rotary meetings would be of coaches and play­ lie schools, thanks to leadership given by Rotarians. ers and the price of tickets. YMCA, YWCA and Boy Scout programs continued Rotarians united in 1919 to provide funds needed to to be emphasized. The membership also assisted in buy musical instruments for a Scout band. Those same drives and programs associated with the fledgling Char­ instruments were later used to establish the Central lotte Chamber of Commerce. Rotarians also requested High School Band. As labor unrest rocked the U.S., that the city appropriate funds for the Public Library. involving more than 4 million people, Charlotte faced Pressure was likewise brought to bear by the Chamber its own labor disputes with striking streetcar operators, of Commerce to increase the salaries of the mayor and adversely affecting local transportation and businesses. city commissioners to ensure the recruiting of com­ It was during this year that The Rotary Club of petent officials. Charlotte changed its meeting date to the Tuesday WBT, the South's ~rs t licensed broadcasting station, of every week. Christmas donations benefited orphan· signed on the air in 1922. It was joined by WSOC in ages and the Crittenton Home, and the Club helped 1929. award a Rotary charter to the Rotary Club of Gastonia. Nineteen twenty-three began with the shocle of Booh for the library, bond issues, playground equip­ President Warren Harding's death. Calvin Coolidge ment and more filled discussions between members. took offtce. Adolf Hitler failed in an attempt to over­ Tl1e year 1919 saw race riots in 26 U .S. cities and throw the German government fro m the Munich Beer the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the Constitu· Garden. ton, granting women the right to vote. The Versailles That year, The Rotary Club of Charlotte honored Peace Conference began in Paris, and the League of 160 graduates of Charlotte High School at a dinner. N ations ·was created. An offering was taken for victims of the earthquakes By 1920, Rotary membership swelled to 139. Meet­ and Roods in Japan. Lincolnton formed a Rotary club ings rotated from locations like the YMCA, Alexander which was sponsored by The Rotary Club of Charlotte. Graham School and St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Rotarians met members of the Mexican basketball tea m as they traveled to \i\T ashington for a tournament. This was the age of prohibition, of famine in Russia, By 1924, a special committee was appointed to handle of the indictment of eight Chicago White Sox players n otary Boys' and Girls' work. Four to five Rotarians for ~x i ng the 1919 VVorld Series. met with the Juvenile Court each Friday where each Charlottean Cameron Morrison was elected gover­ boy or girl was assigned a "Big Brother" for the year. nor in 1920. He won a $65 million appropriation for Rotarians counseled with these youths and their par­ the state's highway system and becmn.e lenown as "The ents, and the courts found that there were fewer "re­ Good Roads Governor." The highway system posi­ pea ters" as a result of the program. tioned Charlotte to become a tntcking crossroads and A "Cavalcade" was arranged for Rotary clubs of dist.ribution center. South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Discussion turned to Charlotte's need for a loft Virginia. Good roads were sorely needed throughout building in 1921. Norman Pease, a Club member and North Carolina, and many club members began work architect, sketched the plans on a tablecloth at one of on the improvements. the Club's luncheons. Howard \i\Ta de seized the idea Lenin died, and Joseph Stalin beca1ne a household and built the Wade Loft Building. The Boy Scout IICI'Ine. ]. Edgar Hoover was appointed head of t.he Bu­ movement was also of prime interest for Rotarians as reau of Investigation. was the Carolinas' Exposition which was held in Char­ lotte that year. As the first decade of The Rotary Club of Charlotte By 1922, Charlotte Rotary's interests were becom­ drew to an end, Nellie Ross of Wyoming became the ing more defined. Projects for young people were first woman governor. The Crippled Children's Clinic stressed, and the Club's Student Loan Fund vvas sub­ was established under the auspices of the Mecklenburg stantially augmented. A high school baseball league County Board of Health. Club members publicly en­ was endorsed, thea trical plays encouraged, and the dorsed the clinic and pledged to help operate it. The Club urged the establishment of a Third and Fourth sum of $25 a month was appropriated for incidental Year Medical H ospital and Institution of Learning in expenses associated with the clinic's initial setup. Charlotte. The clinic developed into a critically important A course in retail selling was established in the pub- agency which delivered medical treatment to crip- 16 Our Time and Place pled children whose families could otherwise not afford the treatments. Dr. Alonzo Myers, a Rotarian, served Charlotte's Role in Rotary's Beginning without pay as head of the clinic. Our senior Rotarians will remembe1· the late Charles Cooperation continued with the Juvenile Court of H.