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A Century of Service: Logan Rotary at 100: An Uncertain Future: Logan Rotary and the Great Depression

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An Uncertain Future: Logan Rotary and the Great Depression

SCAMSS0481Ser01Bx001Fd13Item005.pdf
Letter from the National Recovery Administration (NRA) requesting that the 5th Rotary District (clubs of Utah and Idaho) discuss the organization at an annual convention, 1934 [click to enlarge]
(Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library Special Collections and Archives, Manuscript Collection 481, Series 1, Box 1, Folder 13, Item 5.)
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Depression era handbook for establishing and running a Rotary Club, 1934 [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Manuscript Collection 234, Box 1, Folder 9.)
SCAMSS0234Bx003Item005.pdf
A Rotarian’s Responsibility in the Economic Crisis and Afterwards, 1932 [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Manuscript Collection 234, Box 3, Item 5.)

With Rotary’s focus on businessmen as members, the stock market crash of October 1929 alarmed the club. In response, the Logan Rotary invited W. L. Wanlass, Dean of the UAC Business School, to speak about the financial crisis. The club also brought in other Utah financial minds, including banker and economist Marriner Eccles (before his appointment to chair the Federal Reserve by President Roosevelt) and banker Frederick P. Champ. The club even hosted Lena Morrow Lewis, a leading member of the Socialist Party of America, to speak at a lunch meeting.[1] Logan Rotary adopted a policy of providing as much education as possible from many different sides. Rotary International encouraged Rotarians to stay calm and educate themselves.[2]

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Rotary International reports on the NRA, 1933-1934 [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages]
(Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, Cardon Family Papers, Manuscript Collection 481 Series I, Box 1, Folder 20.)

While Logan City struggled during the Depression (at one point issuing a city-wide script to replace the dollar), Logan Rotary maintained a level course.[3] In an economy where many local businesses failed to stay afloat, joining Rotary seemed like a potential lifeline. As a result, Logan Rotary actually grew in membership from forty-six members in 1930 to sixty-eight by 1939.[4] With increasing membership, the club continued to serve the community by donating books to the Blacksmith Fork Canyon Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp and assisting in restoration efforts of the Wellsville Mountain Watershed. Although individual businesses may have struggled during the economic crisis, the club survived its challenging second decade.

[1] Arrington, 14–15.
[2] Rotary International, “A Rotarian’s Responsibility in the Economics Crisis and Afterwards,” pamphlet, 1932, LRCP, Box 3.
[3] Arrington, 15.
[4] Logan Rotary club rosters, 1930–1939, LRCP, Box 2.