There are now over 15,070 Rotary Clubs and an estimated 707,500 Rotarians in 149 countries around the world. Through the untiring efforts of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, the Lancaster-Depew Rotary Club was organized on November 30, 1921 and a charter was granted at a meeting on February 10, 1922. The charter officers were John F. Patterson, President; Edwin Zurbrick, Vice President; Frank L. Smith, Secretary; Howard L. Meyer, Treasurer; and Raymond M. Smith was the Sergeant-at-Arms. At the time of our organization in 1921 we were a part of District 4.

 

This district covered Western New York as well as parts of Central New York, Northwest Pennsylvania, and to the northernmost limits in Canada, and included not only the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, but Binghamton, Utica, Toronto, and Ottawa as well. When District 4 was split we became part of District 27 and subsequently part of District 169, then 248, and now we are in District 709 along with 58 other clubs. During this ever narrowing limitation of area, the international flavor has been maintained by including a section Canada with Western New York. Dinner meetings were held in the Village Inn located on the land now occupied by the Lancaster Municipal Building. J.O. Garretsee, a charter member, was the owner of the Inn and was also a banker and a Mayor of the Village of Lancaster.

 

One of the first projects of the new club was to assume sponsorship of the orphaned Boy Scouts Troop #55. The relation continued until 1952. Several present members of the club were members of that Scout Troop at that time. This new Rotary Club was a fun club. The members enjoyed singing. Solos and feature numbers by members were part of every meeting. Visitors were numerous from the beginning and many joint meetings were held. Attendance contests with other clubs were popular. One of these contests was with the Albion Club during the years 1924 through 1926 with a cup as a prize being passed back and forth.

 

The members of the Lancaster-Depew Club were active in District affairs, attending, with the Rotary Anns, District Assemblies and Conferences in large numbers. In June 1951, Lancaster-Depew Rotary Club hosted the District Assembly. In 1925 the meetings were moved to the Lancaster Memorial Building and the dinners were prepared and served by the women of the American Legion Post Auxiliary. This arrangement lasted for over 25 years with Mrs. Knauber supervising the kitchen. She was honored for 25 years of service to the Rotary club at a "Ladies Night" on November 23, 1950. Soon after this the Post Steward took over the meal preparation. After a fire in the building and some remodeling which put the bowling alleys overhead, the group moved to the Elks Club. 8 The local Rotarians supported the area high schol athletics in many ways over the years.

 

In 1924 trophies were presented to division winners in basketball and football. For many years the entire Lancaster and Depew High School football squads along with the coaching staffs, were honored at an annual banquet prepared by the school's cafeteria staffs and served by the cheerleaders of both schools. A trophy was placed in competition between Lancaster and Depew to be kept by the school whose team won three years in a row. This trophy was known as The Frank L. Smith Trophy. Frank was a Superintendent of the Lancaster School District and a past President of the Rotary Club. One active committee was known as the Boy's Work Committee. Through the efforts of this group a local baseball team was entered in an area league and won 7 of the 8 games in 1924. This group was also responsible for the club purchasing and installing a 20-foot slide, an "ocean wave," six swings and 12 five-foot benches on the Legion Field - an area now occupied by the A & P Store.

 

This equipment was dedicated with a ceremony and field day on Labor Day 1924. (One of the events was a flower pot breaking contest for men). During this period the local Rotarians furnished materials and supplied labor to develop a playground in the Village of Depew. In 1927, through the efforts of Fred Gill, Superintendent of Como Lake Park, a brand new Erie County Park, this equipment was moved to an area to be known as Rotary Grove in the new park.

 

The year 1927 was "Put Lancaster-Depew on the Map" year for the local Rotarians. With the help and cooperation of the local businessmen and industries, they advertised in commercial publications our area as "the best in the state." This year 50 Lancaster Rotarians and their Rotary Anns journeyed to Jamestown to the District Conference. Our own Rotarian, Guy Bradley, was the main speaker at this conference. This was only one of the many District affairs attended by many local members. In the early '30's, the club established a milk fund providing milk in the schools for all underprivileged children. A student Loan Fund was also set up that year and it is still an active project of our club.

 

During these years our members assisted the local banks in promoting the newly formed FHA program. An Inter-City meeting was sponsored by the Lancaster-Depew Club in 1935 with Dr. Edward Willems of Brussels, Belgium, a representative of Rotary International, the speaker. Over the years this group held many joint meetings with clubs from all parts of the District. Our Rotarians entered the "Hot Dog" business in the fall of 1945.

 

A refreshment stand was set up and operated at all the home games of the Lancaster High football games. The Board of Education was very cooperative and permitted us to prepare the refreshments in the cafeteria kitchen. Charcoal grills were used for the hot dogs. Birch beer was "on tap." All this took place behind the school on Aurora Street. Profit from this venture that first year was $234.01 with many of the supplies donated. This money was put in the Student Loan fund. In 1971 the profit was $1,094.19. After the new high school was built on what is now Forton Drive, the Board of Education granted permission to build a permanent facility under the bleachers. This was built and furnished by members of the club and is now our main source of income for our Scholarship Fund.

 

The Student Loan Fund was a fund set up to help a college student financially with an interest free loan until he was graduated and earning money. A "Penny Jug" has been passed around the tables every week for years to receive pennies and other coins the members wished to put into it. This money started the Loan fund and is still being used as such. During the year 1948 clothing was gathered, packed and sent to the Rotary Club of Kouvala, Finland to be distributed to the needy in their area. This was a District project. Locally, that same year a Lancaster-Depew Health and Welfare Association was supported by the local Rotarians.

 

1949 was Centennial year in the Village of Lancaster and our Rotary Club operated a refreshment stand on the "Mid-way" with a lot of fun for the members and a fair profit for the Student Loan Fund. During this year the club guaranteed the Legion Auxiliary 40 dinners per meeting. A bell and gavel was given to the local Quota Club which was chartered in 1950. The Rotarians and the Quotas exchanged meeting invitations on a few occasions. Award medals were given, starting this same year, to the graduate in the three local schools attaining the highest mark in American History. A "tell a joke" session became part of the weekly program in 1950-51 which was a good year attendance-wise with several 100% meetings. The slogan adopted for that Rotary year was "From the bottom to the top!! It will be done in '51," and it was.

 

The club entertained the entire Buffalo Bisons Hockey Team at a Father and Son dinner in January 1951. There were 140 members and guests present for the gala evening. The 50's were busy years for the Lancaster-Depew Club, especially in community service. We submitted a candidate to the District for a Paul Harris Fellowship. Our candidate, Miss Norma Marinelli (since married) was selected and she chose to spend a year at the University of Rome in Italy. Lancaster-Depew Rotary Club is now a 300% member of the Paul Harris Foundation, based on our membership and the amount of money we have contributed to the foundation. Several of our Rotarians were active in a group of local citizens who organzied the Lancaster Branch of the Boys Club of America.

 

We sponsored a carnival at Legion Field and raised in excess of $800 for the initial contribution to the new organization. Another $1,333.00 was recently contributed to the building fund. Our club was also responsible for starting the annual "Man of the Year Award Dinner." With the help of other local service clubs, this project became a yearly affair with good attendance from the local citizenry. Food auctions at the club meetings with produce from Bert Stutzman's "farm" were frequent as were outdoor picnics. Annual picnics were held at Como Park with the Kiwanis and Lions Clubs with lots of fun, food and fellowship.

 

We now have an annual steakout with spouses and the members prepare the food. Lancaster-Depew Rotarians contributed financially to the local American Field Service Exchange Student Program and furnished a member to that committee. Support of this program continued throught the years with the club entertaining many of these students. In the year 1959, the present Scholarship Fund was started and the first scholarship of $300.00 per year was awarded that June to a student from the graduating class of Lancaster High School. This program is still one of the clubs main projects. It now provides scholarships to 4 students each year. Now the proceeds from the hot dog stand support this program. In 1961 we began sponsoring a night at Melody Fair with the profits from the ticket sales added to the Scholarship Fund. Christmas time was a time we made contributions of money and food to the Salvation Army.

 

The parties held for our own members have a reputation that will never be forgotten. Firecracker kept the members (and the waitresses) jumping. Many times live animals and fowl were hidden behind the curtain to be given to some unsuspecting Rotarian. Some gifts went up in smoke. In the 1950's, our Rotary Anns became part of our more safe and sane holiday parties, with conventional gifts given to all. We held our first Annual Christmas Dinner Dance at the Lancaster Country Club in 1968. This has become the outstanding social affair in the community. The Lancaster Junior High School Band provided several concerts sponsored by the Rotary Club. These concerts were well attended and the profits provided new uniforms and other items for the band.

 

We also gave the band financial assistance for the trip to Philadelphia so they could appear in the "Mummers' Parade" and to also perform at the World's Fair in April 1964. Through the District 709 Governor's Projects, we contributed financially to the "Wells for India" program. We also helped with contributions towards the construction of a hospital in Montero, Bolivia, South America. Financial help has been given to many other projects, some large, some small and too numerous to list. We have supported the "old fashioned" Independence Day celebration which was started in 1968. The members and their wives built, decorated and entered floats in the parade for each of the last three years.

 

In 1968, the club undertook another very worthwhile program, the "Rotary Student Exchange". The following year, we hosted our first student, Dianne Krelle, from Australia. In 1970, we were "parents" to a girl from Belgium, Matine Gathy. And, in 1971, Moray Campbell arrived from New Zealand while we sent Kathleen Pionessa to Bolivia for a year. Through our International Committee, we hosted many District Governors and their wives from around the world during 1970-71. We also undertook a program of correspondence with other Rotarians from around the world. We sponsored two Boy Scouts to the World Jamboree in Japan in the summer of 1971 with the funds coming from the cooperation of local businessmen and organizations. 1972 - 1982 The 60th Anniversary of Rotary in Lancaster - Depew, NY During the years from 1972-1982, Rotary grew both in the world and Lancaster-Depew. There are now 19,492 Rotary Clubs and an estimated 901,000 Rotarians in 157 countries around the world. The Lancaster-Depew Club has seen a resurgence in its membership and has grown from 25 members in 1972 to 49 in 1982. With deep sorrow, we note the passing of two of our long-time members, John Staeber (President 1969-1970) who died in 1974 and Julius Volker (President 1946-1947) who died in 1976.

 

As our sixth decade began in 1972, ideas for new projects were formed which eventually became some of the club's chief accomplishments. A campaign for new members was started which doubled our membership and gave us renewed vitality. We had more social programs with our wives, including "Miss BUffalo" cruises, the annual summer "steak-out", our St. Patrick's Day party, the Christmas Dinner Dance and joint meetings with other service organizations. There were also informal get-togethers when we hosted visiting District Governors and their wives on many occassions. In 1973, the club undertook one of its larger projects, when it decided to decorate our downtown business area for Christmas for an estimated $6000. To raise some of this money, the club sponsored concerts by the Shrine Chanters and the Boys Town Choir.

 

The decorations are stored, repaired, upgraded and put up each year by our club at Thanksgiving. The downtown merchants treated the club to breakfast during the early years. The student exchange program continues to be one of our most successful programs. We hosted two students for the first time in 1972 - Moray Campbell from Bolivia and Humberto Dewey from Mexico. The following year we were eligible to send two students overseas. They were Christine Musial and Anne Strano, who travelled to Bolivia and Mexico respectively. During the years, we have also hosted various numbers of students on a temporary basis during the District Conferenec each spring. We were also host to the District interviews for the exchange program in 1978, 1979 and 1980.

 

Our participation in the activities for youth continued in the 70's at both the local and international levels. At the District level, along with the exchange program, we donated to the Pan American Conference for Youth in 1975 and in 1976 we sent three high school students to St. Lawrence University for a "Future Leaders Face Critical Issues" forum. We also participate in the Rotary Youth Leadership Award program held each year at Ridley College in St. Catharine's, Ont and St Bonaventure in Olean, NY. At the local level, we inaugurated a youth night called "Take a Teenager to Dinner" which is now held yearly. That same year the club was named by Rotary International as one of the thirty-nine winners in Rotary's world photo contest "Rotary in Action - Focus on Youth".

 

The winning photo depicted a student decoratively painting a fire hydrant in our "Paint a Plug" project for the Lancaster Village Bicentennial Celebration. We have continued our interest in the Boy Scouts by sending scouts to the World Jamboree in Norway in 1975 and in Colorado in 1977. Financial help was given to Lancaster-Depew Boys Club when they experienced difficulties in 1980, and donations have also been given to the Lancaster High School Marching Band, Carnival Kids Steel Band and the DECA club at the high school. In June of 1973, along with five other clubs, we participated for the first time in the Crippled Children's Field Day at Cradle Beach on Lake Erie. This has become a meaningful event each year for our members and their families.

 

Community service has occupied a great deal of our interest in the past decade, highlighted by our project for Rotary International's 75th anniversary in 1980. A narrative and slide program titled "The Lancaster Story" was developed which traces the village and town of Lancaster from its beginning to the present. Since its completion in 1981, the program has been shown to schools, industry, civic groups and to other communities as a means of demonstrating the advantages of living and working in our communities. 1980 was the year that the Club started a "Hot Meals" program for the senior citizens. The club donated $2500 and then successfully spearheaded a campaign to raise another $2500 to fund the program. (It is now known as "Meals on Wheels") The Scholarship Fund, which started in 1959, is still a main project of the club. Since that time, the amount of scholarships has risen from the $300 to $1000 for a graduating senior from one of the three area high schools. During the twenty-two year existance, the fund has awarded $17,800 to these deserving students.

 

Our 1972 winner, Pamela Ipolito, continued her participation with Rotary which led to her winning a Rotary Foundation Technical Training Award in 1978. This was the second such award in the club's history. Based on our membership and the monies donated to the Rotary Foundation, we became a 700% club in 1976 and a 1000% club in 1981. The fellowship aspect of Rotary has remained as important in the last ten years as it was in the first fifty. The weekly meetings are the backbone of the club because of the chance for the members to get to know each other better. Our meeting place changed after almost twenty-five years as we moved from the Elk's Club to Ripa's Restaurant in 1975.

 

After some years of absence, singing returned to the club in the early seventies. More social events with our wives were scheduled and the "Rotary Anns" became a big help to the club. The club's large membership brought more activity to old and new projects and events. One of the new fellowship events was our participation in the District Golf Tournament. Our club won the title in 1979 and, as a result, hosted the tournament in 1980. Fund raising and fellowship seem to go hand in hand. New ideas were tried and old ones continued. Concerts were held in 1973; a fertilizer sale in 1974; gas days in 1976 and 1977.

 

The first "Radio Days" at WXRL in Lancaster was held in 1979. Ads were sold to local businesses and the club members took over the broadcasting for a day. the profit from that first year was $1320 and, we hope the fourth one will raise over $2000. The "Hot Dog" business continues after 36 years of operation. It has expanded to two stands at the field with a portable stand that was built by the members in 1975. A portable popcorn machine was built in 1978 and the club now operates both at the annual 4th of July celebration in the village.

 

Along with the "flea market" on the fourth, we now raise approximately $4500 each year from this project. While the main highlights of the past ten years have been those related to club activities, there must be mention of individual accomplishments also. In 1976 the club proposed a member for the Paul Harris Fellow award. This was the first time in the fifty-six years of the club that a member was so honored. This award went to John Dauscher, a member since 1945 and President in 1950-1951.

 

Again, in 1980, the club honored two more members: Bill Seibel (member since 1947 and President 1958-1959) and Bernie Uebelhoer (member since 1955). Recognition of an individual accomplishment should also be made here with the mention of perfect attendance in the club for 36 years by Lynn Mosman. The beginning of the second fifty years of the Lancaster-Depew Rotary Club has proven to be a success. As was noted in the first fifty year history, many problems were present, but the club was able to meet the challenge. We are confident that these ten years have been as successful in fulfilling the ideals of Rotary and its founder, Paul Harris.