EXHIBITS
A Century of Service: Logan Rotary at 100: World War II and the American Century
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World War II and the American Century
Rotary International (RI) and its ideals proved to be incompatible with rising totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan during the interwar years. Several historians argue that Rotary did little to critique the growing tide of fascism in many of its international clubs.[1] In fact, RI praised German members as law-abiding citizens of their nation, even when they began to bar Jews from membership and when the clubs disbanded in 1937.[2] Additionally, RI allowed the Tokyo Rotary Club to produce and distribute a pamphlet (which made a long journey to the Logan club) justifying Japan’s invasion and subsequent conquering of Manchuria, China. The article featured the slogan, “Advancement of Understanding, Goodwill, and International Peace,” regardless of the fact that a pamphlet justifying war failed to promote understanding, goodwill, or international peace.[3] Despite Rotary’s timid stance during the interwar years, American clubs, including Logan Rotary, supported the United States as the nation again became embroiled in conflicts overseas.
In response to the United States’ involvement in the war, Logan Rotarians acted quickly and immediately began purchasing war bonds and participating in Red Cross drives. In addition, many Rotarians put their businesses to work to support the war effort. The Logan club even created a War Activities Committee to coordinate wartime efforts. On September 7, 1943, under the direction of Dr. S. M. Budge, the club promised to purchase $1,000 worth of war bonds during the Third War Bond Drive. Two years later, the club continued to support the war bond drives and selected Jean Richards, a student at the Utah Agricultural College, to be their representative in the Cache County Loan Drive Contest. Richards earned a reputation as the top saleswoman at the college, selling over $50,000 worth of bonds during the war.[4] As the conflict drew to a close in 1945, Rotary prepared for peacetime once again by featuring speakers who presented their opinions on a postwar world.[5]
After the war, the club placed special emphasis on social tradition building. The annual Jeep Ride, where Rotarians explore the surrounding mountains in an assortment of off-road vehicles, first took place in 1963. Additionally, the now famous Golf and Ribs Day officially began in 1973.[6] Rotarians continued with their Christmas Party, an enthusiastic celebration of the West at the annual ’49ers Party, the Family Picnic, and weekly lunches.[7] Service projects included building a fireplace at Willow Park in 1949 and a footbridge across the Logan River at First Dam in 1972–73.[8] Rotarians also donated a television to Sunshine Terrace, the first retirement home in Logan, in 1953.
However, most of the reported postwar history, in both the 50th and 75th anniversaries, details social events over service projects. Merrill C. Daines reflected that during his year as president (1962–63), the club declined to undertake a single substantial service project. President David N. Kooyman reported that the 1992 Logan Canyon Highway Cleanup marked the first hands-on project to take place since he joined Rotary in 1980.[9] These reports are mirrored in the annual budget of the organization, where through the 1940s and 1950s, almost the entirety of funds raised were used for the members’ lunches with little left over for projects.[10] As the twentieth century drew to a close, the Logan Rotary Club, like Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions clubs across the nation, began to age and take on the reputation of social clubs for elderly men.[11]
Rotary Account Ledgers
