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A HISTORY OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF
JERSEY
CITY
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(Click on pictures for
larger image)
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The Beginning
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City Hall
Jersey City
Circa 1916 |
The
Rotary Club of Jersey City, New Jersey, was organized on
June 28, 1916
with 19 charter members, all of whom were associated with businesses in Jersey City. As
Jersey City
was then the home of nearly 300,000 people, 500 manufacturing plants and
125 retail stores, it was evident to the club’s founders that the club
had the potential to attract many new members.
Elected President was Thomas Sheehan, who was affiliated with the
Durham Razor Company. Tom
served as President until 1918, planning and refining the beginnings of
a club that would continue to grow throughout the century.
President Tom’s outstanding club service and leadership
abilities did not go unrecognized by his fellow Rotarians.
The following year (1919-1920) he was elected district governor,
another first, serving Rotary International District 3, which
encompassed all of
New Jersey
north of
Trenton
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Jersey City Rotary - the Early Years |
From Van Winkle's History of the Municipalities of
Hudson County, 1630-1923. Page 225 of Volume I dated 1923 |
(click to enlarge)
In the early years, the Club met at the Carteret Club on the
southeast corner of the Boulevard & Duncan Avenue. The building was
purchased in 1941 by the Dominican Sisters & is now the home of St.
Dominic's Academy |
"The Rotary Club-This club is numbered among
the Rotary Clubs of New Jersey as 249; it was organized in 1916 by
eighteen charter members as follows: George E. Blakeslee, Ray Brundage,
Charles Collins, Walter M. Dear, George Donaldson, Edward I. Edwards,
"Pat" Garyn, Henry Kohl, William Ladue, Edward F. Nuse, James Orr, Joseph
Peremutter, Joseph Payton, Thomas Rooney, Thomas Ryer, Thomas Sheehan,
Mark Townsend, Ross Wilmot. All are still living except Messrs. Blakeslee
and Ladue, but all are not still members of the Club.
"The first
president was Thomas Sheehan, followed by George Blakeslee, Henry Kohl,
Walter Dear, Douglas Schenck, Benjamin Farrier, Michael Cratty, Clarence
Forney. The various secretaries have been "Pat" Garyn, Douglas Schenck,
Walter Muirhead, John Gibson, William Richardson, Charles Woodhull and
Edward Cardinal. The present Rotary Club has a membership of one hundred
and fifteen. They meet every Thursday noon at the club room. The chief
accomplishments of the Rotary since its organization have been in behalf
of the boys of the city. They have formed two boys' clubs, and instituted
night schools for the boys, and are now contemplating the erection of a
spacious modern club-house for boys."
Thanks to PP Jim Tutak for this bit of research. |
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A Tradition of Community Service
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Jersey City Rotary News |
From "The American Boy" - August, 1922 |
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Playground
directors had been running marble contests for some time. Jersey City
discovered that these local contests could be used as elimination trials
for a city-wide tournament. A city champion having been developed by such
a tournament, of course the next step was to stack him up against the
champions of other cities. Just as the city fathers were trying to decide
what city to pick on first, along came a challenge from Washington, D. C.,
the marble capital of the U. S. A.
The Rotary Club and the Park Commission of Jersey City laid the
proposition before Charles "Buster" Rech who had won from all the
thousands of boys who entered the city tournament. "Buster" was willing to
take on Congress and the Supreme Court if they wanted him to. That was in
effect what they said in the telegram they shot back to The News, the
paper that forwarded the challenge and promoted the Washington tournament
to select the capital's champion. |
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Read the whole article
HERE |
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Five Corners
Jersey City
Circa 1914 |
Personifying the Rotary International motto of “Service Above Self,”
Jersey City Rotarians have continuously supported the efforts of many
Jersey City
civic, community and philanthropic groups.
During the 50-year period from 1916 to 1966, 5 members were
elected chairman of the board of trustees of the Jersey City Chapter of
the American Red Cross and 42 members were chosen to serve on the board.
The club was instrumental in the establishment of the Jersey City
Boys Club in the early part of the century, its later expansion in the
1970’s into the Jersey City Boys and Girls Club, and its recent
erection of a new and modern facility.
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Jersey City Rotary News |
From "City vs Boys" by Herbert Hoover - The Rotarian - April
1950 |
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In many other
communities, including Fayetteville, Hot Springs, and Pine Bluff,
Arkansas; Columbus, Indiana; Fair Lawn, Jersey City, Passaic, and
Trenton, New Jersey; Bethlehem, Media, and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania; and
Alpena, Michigan, the Rotary Club co-operated with other civic
organizations in the establishment of Boys' Clubs.
These Boys'
Clubs that Rotary has established offer outlets for that explosive energy
in play and the land of make-believe. Their activities stretch all the way
from checkers to sandlot baseball, from orchestras to bands. There are
boxing matches, libraries, gymnasiums, and swimming pools. Boys are led
into shops of the arts and the trades to discover their occupational
bents, and, above all, they are taught the spirit of sportsmanship,
cooperative living, and responsibility in citizenship. They are taught the
rules of life and are given glimpses of the opportunities in this great
land of ours. |
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Read the whole article
HERE |
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A History of Personal Commitment
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In
the 1950’s Rotarian Adam Black built and maintained a “swim
mobile,” a steel container filled with water mounted on a large
vehicle which traveled through the city’s neighborhoods on sultry
summer days to give residents a chance to cool off.
In 1959 another member, Dr. Conrad Bahnson, organized the
Visiting Homemaker Service of Hudson County with 10 health aides;
presently more than 700 certified health aides care for over 5,000
patients each year. In the
1960’s club
President Dr.
Frederick
(“Chick”) Chiccone initiated a medical and dental program to assist
immigrants who could not afford needed health care.
When club President William Martin instituted the city’s
“Meals on Wheels Program” a few years later, elderly homebound
Jersey City Residents began enjoying nutritious lunches in their homes
each day because every member took his turn delivering these meals.
In 1978 under President Gerard Claps club members constructed a
lounge for the clients of the Occupational Center of Hudson County,
donating the necessary labor and building materials as well as furniture
and carpeting.
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Commitment to Youth
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Perhaps most importantly, however, the Rotary Club of Jersey City has
never wavered in its commitment to the development of the city’s
youth. In addition to a
vigorous college scholarship program, for the past 40 years the club has
awarded to an outstanding 8th grade student in each of
Jersey City
’s 28 public grammar schools its coveted “Davy Jones Rotary Youth
Citizenship Award” in memory of 1928-1929 Past President Dave Jones.
Also in Dave’s memory, the club established a fund at the
Jersey City
Medical
Center
to furnish the Children’s Ward.
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An Ongoing Effort
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In
1952 former President Tommy Williams started the club’s first
campership program with the Boy Scouts, as well as leading a group of
fellow Rotarians in purchasing property in Pennsylvania which would
become Rock Hill Scout Reservation; today the recently established
“William Miller Memorial Campership Fund” is continuing that fine
tradition. Individual club
members participate in high school cooperative education programs in
which they provide students with paid internships in their businesses.
They speak at high school career days about their professions and
often volunteer as mentors at neighborhood schools and at their
workplaces. Many have also
supported the Hudson County Science Fair by serving as judges and
donating cash prizes.
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Beyond Local Boundaries
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Nationally and internationally, the Rotary Club of Jersey City supports
the Rotary Foundation and was actively involved in Polio Plus, an
international initiative dedicated to eradicating polio. It has made
substantial contributions to the foundation, naming past President
William Martin as its first Paul Harris Fellow in 1978, and recognizing
many other members as additional fellows for their distinguished service
in subsequent years. Club
members were instrumental in forming the Jersey City Daybreak Rotary
Club and the two clubs co-sponsored a children’s literacy program for
Jersey City
’s first grade pupils. The
club has also participated in Rotary International’s Group Study
Exchange Program, hosting business professionals from many foreign
countries including the
Philippines
,
Germany
,
Egypt
,
Brazil
,
France
and
Switzerland.
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A Regional Impact
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The
club is actively involved in many Rotary International District 7490
projects such as the Gift of Life, providing for impoverished children
from abroad to be flown to
New York
to receive life-saving heart surgery, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
Program, and the Walter Head Foundation, again underwriting scholarships
by naming exemplary members Walter Head Fellows.
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An Opportunity for Friendship and
Fellowship
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Windows On the World
October 6, 1978
Seated (Left to right):
Father Vic Yanatelli - President, St. Peter's College; Henry Jaszewski - President, Halsted Corporation;
Larry Lewis - Manager, Holland Tunnel, Retired; Peter Goldmark - Guest Speaker - Executive Director, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
Standing (Left to right):
Joseph Lecowitch - Executive Director, Hudson County Chapter, American Red Cross;
Gerard Claps - President, Rotary Club of Jersey City - Vice-president, Schiavone Bonomo Corporation |
On a social note, the club celebrated its 50th anniversary in
1966 at a formal dinner dance at Mayfair Farms in
West Orange
, featuring popular band leader Lester Lanin and his Orchestra, and its
75th anniversary at another formal event cruising the
Hudson River
on a private yacht. When
construction of the
Twin
Towers
in downtown
Manhattan
was completed in 1978, Henry Jaszewski and Gerard Claps organized a gala
luncheon at its 107th floor restaurant, Windows on the World, at which
Peter Goldmark, Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY and NJ
unveiled his plans for the area’s future development.
The affair was so well attended by the business community that it
has been held annually ever since and is the highlight of each club
year. |
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An Exercise in Leadership
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Finally, the Rotary Club of Jersey City is proud to be the home club of
four district governors: Thomas Sheehan in 1919-1920, Harry Everett in
1932-1933, Robert Cary in 1941-1942, and at the dawn of the third
millennium, past President Ken Ruskin in 1999-2000. |
Written By
Gerard Claps - President 1978-1979
In Collaboration With
Adele Miller - President 1999-2000
(Click on this button to learn more about
the History of Rotary International)
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Copyright
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Rotary Club of Jersey City