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Grand Rapids Rotary Club records

 Collection
Identifier: Collection 129

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the material deals with the Club's last forty years. The records have noticeable gaps, and there is little material predating 1940. Limited files including correspondence, minutes and financial records provide sampling of the Club's activities as a service organization. Membership records are quite extensive and include lists of committees and office holders. The collection includes several narratives of the Club's history, which provides a brief retrospective on the Chapter's development.

Included are constitutions, minutes, financial records, a few speeches, some correspondence, some issues of the organization's newsletter “Spokes of the Wheel”, graphic materials including several with illustrations by local artists Ray Barnes & Joe Korff, a few audio visual items and a map. A small series of mostly black and white photographs include some portrait photos, such as Grand Rapids politicians of national note William Alden Smith and Arthur Vandenberg, or local African American leader Paul Phillips, while other images document club events. Long-time member President Gerald Ford is also documented among the photos, receiving an honor in the Oval Office.

Dates

  • 1913-1991

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Founded in 1913, Grand Rapids Rotary has included in its ranks many prominent business people and professionals. Weekly meetings provide the hub of Club activities, offering fellowship, guest speakers, and an opportunity for the exchange of ideas. Following the Rotary credo of service, the Grand Rapids Chapter has been involved in countless civic and charitable projects, including war bond drives, educational support programs, Indian Trails Camp for handicapped children, a Boy Scout camp, and PolioPlus, to cite but a few. The Club's membership has been active in numerous local, state, national and international service projects. Several members have contributed significant service to the Rotary movement. In 1988 the Club marked its 75th anniversary by publishing a commemorative volume on its history: Grand Rapids Rotary: The First 75 Years, included in this collection.

Extent

7.1 Linear Feet (17 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection provides an informative but selective view of the Grand Rapids Rotary Club, founded in 1913. The bulk of the material deals with the period after World War II. There are several brief historical resumes of the club's early decades. Most of the records involve limited time spans but offer valuable glimpses of the club's community activities, particularly service to children of the community, nation and world, as well as the club's internal deliberations. Extensive membership data covers most of the club's history. The collection indicates the development of the club as a prototype service organization with an expanding membership and agenda.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Grand Rapids Rotary Club, accession number 1988.045

Title
Finding Aid for the Grand Rapids Rotary Club records
Status
Completed
Author
Warren Sauer
Date
March 1991
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Grand Rapids History Center Repository

Contact:
Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library Street NE
Grand Rapids Michigan 49503 USA
616-988-5497