The Founding of The Owego Rotary Club
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The Founding of The Owego Rotary Club |
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Owego Businessman Art Stiles inquired to Rotary headquarters during the summer of 1919 about a club for Owego. On November 22, Stiles received a letter from the Rotary International President allowing him to survey the Owego area for the purpose of organizing a club. Stiles' committee included Harry Corey, Harold Pumpelly, Walter Brideman and Marvin Welch. I. Dudley Field, of the Binghamton Club, was the special representative to assist Stiles.
The summer of 1920 was spent selecting charter members for the new club. The club was to have fifteen charter members, no more, no less. It was decided on November 26, to apply for a charter as of December 1st. The actual founding meeting was held December 3, 1920. At this meeting Art Stiles was named President; Walter Bridgeman, Vice-President; Paul Robinson, Secretary; Isaac Carroll, Treasurer; and Charlie Starr, Sergeant-at-Arms. It was decided that meetings would be held on Tuesdays, starting at 12:15 p.m. The first club meeting was held the following Tuesday.
The charter members of the club were as follows:
The first meeting was held in the private dining room of the Owego Hotel. In 1928, the club moved to the private dining room of the Ahwaga Hotel, but then outgrew this room and met in the main room with a curtain separating them from other patrons. This proved unsatisfactory and by the summer of 1929, they moved to the Owego Country Club for the summer, coming back to the hotel in the fall. By June 1932, the club had moved to the private meeting room of the Green Lantern and stayed there until 1954, when they moved to the Deep Well Restaurant. Today the club meets at the Treadway Inn.
Charter night for the Owego Club was held January 17, 1921. One hundred and one members of the Binghamton Club came for the presentation.