History

HISTORY OF THE MONTROSE ROTARY CLUB

COMPILED IN: 1992 - 1993

RESEARCHED BY: CLIFFORD (CLIFF) BALDRIDGE AND HAROLD WESTESEN

For the entire article, follow this link to a MSWord File (104 pages)

INTRODUCTION - 1992

In the latter part of the year 1991, the Montrose Rotary Club Board of Directors recognized the need to research and record a history of our Club. Upon being asked to undertake this task, the writer solicited the aid of Rotarian Harold Westesen in the drudgery of going through seventy plus years of Daily Press newspaper files. Harold was a Charter Member of the Olathe Rotary Club and became a member in Montrose when the Olathe Club dissolved. Appreciation is hereby expressed to Harold, and also to his Rotary Ann, Dorothy, for their assistance in this very formidable task.

Essentially, only three sources have been used in compiling this history. First is The Daily Press file from the year 1921 when Montrose Rotary was founded. Rotary news was almost always printed, if at all, on Wednesdays following the Tuesday noon Rotary meetings. Throughout the 71 plus years of the Club’s existence, the meetings have been held on Tuesday noon. In the early years of the Club, considerable news of its activity was published, and this is probably due to the fact that the reporter was an enthusiastic member of the Club. Our thanks to the present publisher, Wm. Prescott (Scott) Allen III, for making the files available for research.

The second source, and an important one, is the Montrose Club Bulletin file. Beginning in 1981, a file of the Bulletins was established, although it is found that numbers of Bulletins are missing from the file. It could be most useful to those who may continue the history in future years, to find recorded in our Bulletins information concerning notable programs of the meetings, records of the Club, community and International Rotary service news, etc. We owe a real debt to those of our Club who have served us over the years as Bulletin Editors.

The third source comes from the memory of the writer, who has enjoyed membership in our Club since 1944.

Having known Montrose Rotary for these many years, I must state here that our Club has, by my observation, attained in recent years its highest level in Service Above Self and in promotion of the objectives of Rotary International. We have enjoyed a long series of capable, enthusiastic, dedicated presidents and Board Members plus an outstanding membership of capable, community minded men and women.

I believe that there is excellent reason for being proud to be known as a member of the Montrose Rotary Club!

– Clifford E. (Cliff) Baldridge

For the entire article, follow this link to a MSWord File (104 pages)