That sharing tradition is not new. The club has a history of inviting spouses, children and farmers to special meetings held in their honour. Speakers and entertainment were tailored to the guests’ interests. During WWII visitors from the Camrose Garrison (a training facility for recruits) was the norm. Anyone new to town was invited to a meeting as a welcome to Camrose. As a result, many new friendships have been forged.
Another tradition was originally designed to cover operating costs. A Sergeant at Arms would mete out fines for real or imagined offenses – the goal to have fun and raise money. That tradition has been replaced today by happy bucks. Members share something they are happy or sad about and essentially fine themselves. It’s become a great way to keep up with what is happening with members.
And who can forget the club’s sing-a-longs? The club always seemed to have a member with a strong voice and one who could play the piano. In the early years, Theo Bailey organized a Rotary choir. The club had its own songbooks and for some time, when John Howard was a member, a word smith who set any theme to a familiar tune.
As with most groups of people who enjoy each other’s company the club soon started getting together at times other than its Monday lunch meeting. Members got together to work on projects, to have a barbecue, for winter fun days, for bowling or challenging a corn maze, for “Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner?” Nights, garden parties and much more.
Rotary International has many outlets for developing interests and friendships. One of those is the Rotary Friendship Exchange. It’s an international exchange program for Rotary members and friends that allows participants to take turns hosting one another in their homes and clubs. Our club members enjoyed an exchange with South Africa and Botswana in 2014 and with Australia in 2017.
Women in Rotary
For its first 64 years, the Rotary Club of Camrose was an organization of business and professional men. The wives of members were quite active and were often referred to as Rotary Anns. The term grew out of two San Francisco Rotary wives named Ann who in 1914 boarded a special train to attend a Rotary Convention. With more women in business and professions, the club was opened to women in 1988. Rotary is certainly richer and more diverse with this transition. In any given year the club is about equal in terms of male and female members. The first female club President was Vivianne Grue who took office in July 2000. Today we are all simply Rotarians.
Service Above Self
It shouldn’t be any surprise that when a group of community-minded individuals gather together they get involved in making their community a better place. During the 1924 Rotary year, the club committed to running a camp for boys at Miquelon Lake and building a community swimming pool. The boys camp was held that summer to the delight of 45 boys who spent 4 days of fun swimming, playing baseball and football, participating in track and field events, and of course, enjoying nightly campfires thanks to members Howcroft and Farley. The camp was held again in 1925.
The club built a “swimming hole” within the Calgary Power dam in 1926-27. That structure was lost in the Calgary Power 1929 reservoir project. It would not be until 1947 that a standalone swimming pool was built with the help of the whole community.
The club continued to advocate for Camrose youth and work to expand their recreation and learning opportunities. They built baseball diamonds and held bird house building competitions in the 1920s. The 1930s saw a shift to deal with the economic hardships facing many local families. The newspapers reported on business closeouts and bankruptcies, unemployed workers and suicides. Rotary was holding a kids’ day at the fair, donating to the welfare association, conducting Red Cross drives and other projects to meet community needs.
Community needs change again
With the outbreak of World War II in the 1940s the Rotary Club of Camrose shifted its focus to assisting the war effort in every way possible. This was a time of excitement as young adults eagerly signed up for military service. It was also a time of rationing and shortages in farm labour in the midst of a need to produce and share more with war-damaged Europe. It was a time of sadness as casualty lists grew. Rotarians were active in Victory Bond, Red Cross and Salvation Army drives and salvage collection efforts, and they took an active role in supporting the soldiers from the Camrose Garrison (a training camp located in the then fairgrounds and what is now Rudy Swanson Park). They also supported the sailors aboard the HMS Camrose Corvette with cigarettes and other comforts and by writing personal letters to the seamen. They assisted the community in assembling 5,000 pounds of men’s clothing for the London bombing victims.
In 1944 and 1945 the club ran a stock show to fill the void left by the Camrose Fair which was usually held on the Garrison grounds. The object was for young farmers to see what type of cattle could be successfully raised in the area and to learn more about cattle from expert producers. Rotary supported the tennis club and wading pool to provide an outlet for local children.
The war is over. Now what?
After the war ended and into the 1950s there was much to be done in our community. The club got right to work supporting the high school band by buying instruments for students who didn’t own their own. They hosted an interschool debate and a community bridge tournament. The members sponsored the Boy Scout troop that had disbanded during the war. Rotary was involved in the erection of a Scout Hall and took Scouts to camp at Sylvan Lake. They helped to organize Home and School in the community. They helped to organize a fancy skating club by paying for an instructor. They ran a Skating Carnival for two years using the funds raised to support the skaters.