A HISTORY OF THE BAD AXE ROTARY CLUB

Founding of the Club

The Bad Axe Rotary Club was founded in 1924. The Club's charter is dated May 27, 1924.

The ceremony awarding the charter was held on Saturday, June 7, 1924.

The charter members of the Club were Robert P. Buckley, James L. Burgess, John J. Campbell,

Archie J. Clark, Father Courtney, Dr. Charles I. Herrington, Dr. C.B. Morden, Joseph N.

Rankin, Lew Rice, Alfred R. Thomas, C. D. Thompson, Leo Thourlby, Max Weinberg, George

L. Whitney, Paul Woodworth and Fred L. Wright. The Club's first President was C.B.

Morden.1 The following gentlemen were not charter members, but joined during the Club's

first year: Glenn Carpenter, Dr. A. W. Hogan, W. A. Markle, Harold Matteson, Stanley

McDonall, Charles McFadden, Warren Slack, and Ben VandenBelt.

The June 13, 1924 issue of The Huron County Tribune contained a lengthy account of the

original meeting of the Bad Axe Rotary Club, portions of which are quoted below:

NEW ROTARY CLUB GETS A GOOD START

The new Bad Axe Rotary Club got a flying start last Saturday night when the

charter presentation ceremony took place at the Morrow house, following a

banquet attended by the charter members and visitors, numbering 60 in all.

The ceremonies were in charge of the Flint Rotary, which has been the sponsor

for the Bad Axe organization. Prominent Rotarians were present from Flint,

Detroit, Lapeer, Saginaw, Port Huron and Bay City. . . . Elwood Andrews, a

1 In what appear to be notes prepared for a talk at a Bad Axe Rotary function in February of 1943, Rotary Club member

Forrest Ridgely described the beginnings of the Club as follows.

Our club was founded or chartered in April 1924. Harbor Beach, Caro and Croswell in '25, Cass City in '30, with

Elkton, Sebewaing and Pigeon following some years later, so you see we have something to be proud of in being the

first in the Thumb to get-under-way.

In April of 1923 a few men got together and after thouroughly [sic] canvassing the prospective Timber for Rorarians

[sic] in Bad Axe got a list of 36 Representative men in the Community, and after the Missionary work had been done

and the smoke had abated, they had 19 good and true Rotarians "in the rough". Then Dist. Gov. Paul H. King came

up and made it official.

After identifying the Club members and its Presidents through 1943, Mr. Ridgely continued:

The writer got quite a kick from a letter C.D. Thompson received from his good friend Henry Zimmerman Pres. of

Detroit Rotary Club dated Sept 21st 1916 in which he said that he didn't think that Rotary could function in a town of

less than 50,000 people because of the restrictions on memberships and here we are going strong with nearly 40

members and in a town of less than 3000, while our neighbor Cass City has a dandy club and don't have half the

population we do, just goes to show that we sometimes could be mistaken.

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former Bad Axe boy, prominent in Flint business and fraternity circles, presided

at the meeting. . . .

Among the good talkers called on by toastmaster Andrews were—James McKay

of Bay City, H. Haynes of Lapeer, Thomas Marston of Detroit, Wm. Otto of

Flint, Rev. Ralph Kerns, Flint, and Russel Thayer of Saginaw. . . . The

presentation of the charter was by Paul King of Detroit, Rotary Governor for

Michigan. . . . . The president elect of the new organization, Dr. C. B. Morden,

was called away from the meeting and the charter was received, by the treasurer,

C. D. Thompson. . . . Mr. Thompson expressed the pleasure of the new members

in their being able to connect up with the great and growing Rotary International,

which now practically circles the civilized world. . . . The officers selected for

the Bad Axe Rotary are: President, C. B. Morden; Vice President, Paul

Woodworth; Secretary, James L. Burgess; Treasurer, C. D. Thompson.

History of the Club Up to 1954

The Bad Axe Club's program for Rotary International's Golden Anniversary in 1955 provides a

brief year-by-year history of the Club from its founding through approximately June of 1954.

Although the quantity and quality of information provided differs by year, the reader

nevertheless gets a good feeling of what it was like to be a Bad Axe Rotarian during the Club's

first 31 years and learns great deal about some of the Club's activities through those years.

In its first year, the Club sponsored the local Boy Scouts and held the Club's first "Ladies

Night" at Broken Rocks. The party was reportedly attended by 100 people, including

Rotarians, Rotary Anns (i.e., Rotarian's wives) and guests.

Within the Club's first five years, it: arranged a meeting at a Boy Scout camp that it set up at

Pointe Aux Barques; held at least two additional "Rotary Ann" parties at Broken Rocks; helped

organize the Harbor Beach Rotary Club; sponsored two "inter-city" meetings at the newly-

organized Verona Hills Golf Club with Rotarians from several local clubs, including Harbor

Beach, Caro and Lapeer; held a dinner at which former Governor Albert E. Sleeper spoke;

hosted a meeting honoring a past district governor of Rotary which was attended by 100

Rotarians from 38 clubs; "played Santa" to 800 children at a community Christmas tree on the

court house lawn; and presented a Rotary Wheel to the new Caro club on its charter night. In

addition, in 1928 charter member James Burgess was the first Club member to be named a

delegate to a Rotary International convention.

The next several years saw Bad Axe Rotary joining with the Bad Axe Community Club in both

social engagements and civic matters. On one occasion the two clubs hosted well-known poet

Edgar A. Guest and the esteemed Yale University Professor William Lyon Phelps. In February

of 1928 the clubs demanded an investigation of the shot gun shooting of a ten year old girl in

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Port Austin's Gallup Park. The clubs also cooperated in asking the Bad Axe City Council to

rescind a law prohibiting the theatre from being open on Sunday. They were successful.

Meetings among local Rotary clubs were popular in those days. In 1929, local Rotarians and

Rotary Anns held a dance with Caro Rotarians at Murray Hall, and Harbor Beach Rotarians

were guests of the Bad Axe club at a dinner at the high school. On that occasion, the meal was

served by the Home Economics class, Pariseau's orchestra played, and entertainment was

provided by a high school quartet. Another inter-city meeting was held at Verona Hills with

150 Rotarians attending from Harbor Beach, Croswell, Caro, Cass City and Bad Axe. In

November of that year the club sponsored a free clinic for crippled children. Dr. Willet

Herrington of Bad Axe and Dr. Armitage of Harbor Beach conducted the clinic with Bad Axe

Rotarians picking up the children from all over the county and returning them home.

Also in 1929, the Rotary Club, in conjunction with the Community Club, put on a comedy at

the Bad Axe High School Auditorium called "The Womanless Wedding." Over 80 community

members appeared in the play.

In 1935, the Club started publishing a weekly newsletter called "Rotary Chips," the "chips"

representing the pieces of wood remaining after use of the "Bad Axe." That publication was

reportedly still being issued in 1955. Rotary Chips was essentially an extended meeting

agenda which reported items of interest, birthdays and the like. Also in 1935, the Club

provided support to the proposed Port Austin small craft harbor and backed efforts to complete

the paving of M-53. The Club also donated money to various causes, provided a daily milk

supply to school children, and sponsored a community Christmas tree celebration with candy

for 400 youngsters.

That same year, the Bad Axe Club began assisting the Goodfellows, a Detroit charity. Club

members exchanged gifts at the Club's Christmas program and then donated the gifts to the

Goodfellows. Rotarians also collected and repaired old toys which were then turned over to

the Goodfellows for Christmas presents for needy children. More than 100 boys and girls

participated in a Rotary-sponsored drama contest.

The Club was active in several community events in the following years. Rotary sponsored a

garden contest, a Halloween party and parade, a pancake breakfast, and a bird house project.

The Club also sponsored ongoing work on Rogers Dam on the Pinnebog River and was

involved with initial discussions regarding a Bad Axe airport.

The Club's president beginning July 1, 1937, Leon L. Bateman, describes how during his term

the Club purchased important equipment for the Bad Axe hospital:

A chance conversation with Miss Hoyle, superintendent of the Hubbard Memorial

Hospital, brought out the fact they needed an oxygen tent. They were new and had

just proven their value as a life saver in hospital use. We raised the funds thru

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donations and a Drama Contest. Dr. C. B. Morden, our first club president,

headed the list of donators. Boy Scouts, hospital auxiliary and other groups helped

in the Drama contest and netted $42.65. I still have the copy of the donation list

and the original purchase receipt for $344.72. Later, after the equipment came

into common use, the club had the thrill of receiving several thank-you letters

from patients who gave credit to it for saving their lives.

The late 1930's saw the Club active in several social activities in conjunction with other local

Rotary clubs. Inter-city meetings with up to five other clubs were apparently held in both 1938

and 1939 at Verona Hills, and many club members attended a reunion of the old 23rd Rotary

District in Royal Oak. These inter-city events were attended by up to 150 Rotarians. In 1938,

the Club sponsored a Rotary Ann Halloween party, a football banquet, and a youth parade,

bonfire and roast. In 1940, the Club sponsored the new Elkton Rotary Club. Its charter night,

on April 14th

, was attended by 200 people.

In the early 1940's, an inter-city Rotarian gathering sponsored by the Pigeon Club went on a

fishing trip on six tugboats on Wild Fowl Bay. Fred W. Kinde reportedly won the prize for

catching the most fish. Rogers Dam was completed and soon the Club started a camp for boys

at the Dam. In the 1941-42 Rotary year, the Club held a joint meeting with the Bad Axe Lions

Club at Verona Hills Golf Club and eight area Rotary Clubs installed their officers at that same

venue. The next year Rotary formed an aviation committee "to investigate the possibility of

getting a county airport." Charter member Joseph N. Rankin donated the land for the airport

and Rotarians helped with site preparation work through "brush clearing bees." (The airport

was completed and dedicated for use on July 3, 1949.) Subsequent years saw Bad Axe

Rotarians involved with Rotary International's Crippled Children's Committee and the Rotary

Invalid Fund. After Rotary International began promoting local Institutes of International

Understanding, the Bad Axe Club sponsored such an institute in Huron County which was

reportedly well received by local residents. Club records report that about that time Rotary

International added its 6,000th club, in Allepo, Syria.

Throughout the 1940s, Club activities were heavily influenced by World War II. The club

sponsored a Draftee Sendoff Committee. Weekly programs dealt with topics such as

blackouts, civilian defense, rationing and poison gases. Club members sent post cards each

week to men in the armed forces. At one weekly meeting, a "spontaneous contribution" was

taken which resulted in Club members donating a total of $219 "for Christmas cigarettes which

were sent to 200 Bad Axe servicemen stationed all over the world." Lt. James Whittaker, who

had spent three weeks downed on the Pacific, talked to students and Rotarians at a Rotary

meeting. Another speaker discussed his experiences on Guadalcanal. Joe McCarty, who had

been a prisoner of war in Germany for six months, also spoke to the Club. A letter from

Kenneth Rice, who survived the Bataan Death March and three and a half years in a Japanese

prison camp, was read at a meeting.

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Happier days came as servicemen arrived home from the war. During the 1946-47 year, there

was an "outstanding Rotary Ann party" at the Cartwheel with Edgar A. Guest the featured

speaker/poet. From December through March, most every member of the Club, many Rotary

Anns and "a fine group of townspeople" rehearsed and presented the local talent show

"Minstrel Melodies" as a benefit for the Bad Axe Girl Scouts, raising almost $1,200. Later, the

show was repeated in Pigeon for the benefit of an invalid girl.

In 1949, the Club held the ninth annual inter-city meeting at Verona Hills with eight Thumb

Rotary clubs participating. Later that year the Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with a

Rotary Ann party at the Methodist Church House "with favors for the ladies and gold Rotary

emblem paper weights presented to past presidents." Over 100 people attended the event (see

Photo 1).2 During the 1950-51 year, several hundred adults and youth from around the county

attended the "Goebel Baseball troop party" sponsored by the Club. Another successful

Goodfellow newspaper sale netted $1,362.

At meetings in 1951-52 there were programs on "Americanism (showing the American Way of

Life), Youth, Television, Roads, Boy Scouts, Aircraft Identification, Conservation,

Accomplishments in medicine and surgery, early history of Huron county and the annual

Goodfellow newspaper sale." In 1952-53, the Club started the Arthur Hartshorn Memorial

Student Loan Fund in memory of a local man "who gave his life in the armed services." On

April 23rd

and 24th

, 1953 the Club, together with the PTA, presented a minstrel show, "Burnt

Cork Melodies," at the Bad Axe Grade School Auditorium. The Club's files contain a copy of

the program for this event. Proceeds from the play benefitted the High School Band and paid

for Grade School playground improvements. In 1953-54, the Club was asked to contribute

toward furnishing a room at Hubbard Hospital. Each Rotarian contributed $10 and over $400

was collected, enough to cover the total cost of the furnishings.

On February 28, 1955 the Club celebrated the 50th

anniversary of Rotary International with a

dinner at the Bad Axe High School. The program for the event includes a history of the Bad

Axe Club up until that time. Speakers included the District Governor (Fred Fenske), the

Mayor of Bad Axe (D. Crosby Clark), and the Lions Club (George Hill) and Chamber of

Commerce (Clarence Sageman) Presidents. Entertainment was provided by the Port Huron

Schubert Club and community singing was led by club member Charles Todd accompanied by

Norah Dowde on the piano.

2 This photograph was published in the Huron Daily Tribune on May 23, 1999 on the occasion of the Club's 75th anniversary.

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History of the Club after 1954

No extant document provides as thorough information for the period after 1954 as the program

for RI's 50th

anniversary does for the period before 1954. Primary sources for the post-1954

period include limited historical information found in a program for the Club's 50th

anniversary

in 1974, annual Bad Axe Club meeting schedule books, and recollections of Club members.

Clare J. Hewens, Sr. of the Bad Axe Club was the first member of the Club to serve as District

Governor, serving in 1956-57. During the 1963-64 year, the Bad Axe Club hosted the District

Conference. This Conference was the largest in attendance up to that time. The Club's Leland

Harris served as the Conference Chairman.

In 1964-65, the Club hosted a meeting which several Rotary International dignitaries attended:

Rotary International Past President Harold Thomas (1959-60) from New Zealand; Rotary

International Director Reginald Smith; Past District Governor Clare J. Hewens; District

Governor Irl Badgley; and District Governor Nominee Leland Harris of the Bad Axe Club. Mr.

Harris served as District Governor in 1966-67.

In the mid-1960s, the Club participated in the new Rotary International program to wipe out

polio by distributing the Sabin oral polio vaccine throughout Huron County. Distributions took

place on Sundays at the high schools in Bad Axe, Harbor Beach, and Pigeon. A drop of the

new vaccine was placed on a sugar cube and the school children dissolved the sugar cube in

their mouths. Club members recall that a nurse, a pharmacist and a doctor were required to be

present. Six months later, the process was repeated since it was necessary that two doses of the

vaccine be administered.

For a period during the 1960s, one meeting each year was designated "Farm Day." On that

day, each member was expected to bring a local farmer to lunch. During those years, the Club

sponsored a group of Japanese agriculturalists and took the group to visit nearby Wil-Le Farms

for a tour of that facility's dairy operations. About this time one Club program centered on the

future of farming and speculated on what agriculture would be like in the year 2000.

On November 7, 1968, a comedy referred to by the Club as "Womanless Wedding" (also

known as "the marriage of Robin Crow to Mr. Cheep Vulture, II") was presented by the Club

at the Bad Axe High School. The play was reportedly a revival of a production the Club had

put on 40 years earlier.3 William Pietscher directed and wrote additional material for the

revival. Thirty-seven Rotarians were in the cast; several cast members in costume were

pictured in the Huron Daily Tribune (see Photo 2 for an example).

3 On November 1, 1968, the Tribune published pictures and names of the cast from the 1929 production.

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About this time, the Club sponsored a bowling team that competed for several years with teams

sponsored by other local Rotary Clubs. The Club also competed with the Bad Axe Lion's Club

in golf and basketball on several occasions.

The Club produced another comedy about that time. "The Shameful, Sexy Sixties," based on

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, was presented by the Club in the Bad Axe High School

Gymnasium. The program for the play shows that 24 Rotarians were in the cast, three of

whom were pictured in the Huron Daily Tribune (see Photo 3.

The Bad Axe Club became active in the early 1970s with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

Many Bad Axe High School students had the opportunity though this program to spend one of

their high school years abroad. Over the years, many Bad Axe families welcome students from

other countries and regions, including England, France, Belgium and South America. The

Club remained active in Youth Exchange through the early 2000s.

On June 24, 1974, the Club celebrated its 50th

(Golden) Anniversary with a dinner at Pointe

Aux Barques Resort. The featured speaker was Edgar A. "Bud" guest, Jr. According to the

Huron County Tribune, Bud amused the crowd with stories similar to those he told for many

years on his "Sunny Side of the Street" program on WJR, the Detroit radio station. Bud's

father, Edgar Guest, was a well-known poet who spent many of his summers in the Pointe aux

Barques area and had entertained at Bad Axe Rotary events in earlier years. The program for

the Golden Anniversary dinner includes a captioned photograph of the then 33 Rotary

members of the Club posed in front of the Huron County Building along with long-time Rotary

pianist Norah Dowde (see Photo 4).

In those years, the Club occasionally departed from its normal one hour meeting format to hear

from speakers requiring additional time. On several occasions, Neil and Jean Smith joined the

Club to present accounts of their world travels, including their trips to China and Antarctica.

Traditionally, Rotary Clubs sing several songs at each of their meetings. They might sing "The

Rotary Song" (Norris C. Morgan, 1923) (listen at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/60077/Stories/the-

rotary-song), Rotary favorites that have been collected in various songbooks, or popular songs of

the day. For over 40 years Norah Dowde (Photo 5) accompanied the Club's choral efforts as the

Club's pianist.4 After Ms. Dowde retired from playing for Rotary in the late1980s, Gladys

Hamilton and Club member Larry Salzburg took on the accompanist role for brief periods before

the Club finally decided to do away with singing a few years later.

4 Norah Dowde was born in England in 1906. She passed away in Bad Axe in 1992. Norah came to the United

States with her parents as a child. She graduated from Bad Axe High School in 1924. While in High School,

Norah was a member of the Girls' Glee Club and the Bad Axe High School Quartet. After graduation, Norah

attended Eastern Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the Conservatory of Music in Chicago.

Norah taught vocal music for the Bad Axe Public Schools starting in 1935. She retired from the Bad Axe schools

after a 31 year career in June 1966.

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The Club, however, did not want Norah Dowde's efforts on its behalf to be forgotten. In 1980,

the Club presented a college scholarship to a graduating Bad Axe High School music student in

honor of Ms. Dowde. The Club has been presenting the Norah Dowde Scholarship every year

since and has now endowed a scholarship in her name.

The Club held its first Spaghetti Supper fundraiser in the 1980s. Initially, the event was held at

the George E. Green School. In later years, and continuing to this day, the supper is held at

Bad Axe High School.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a significant change to the Bad Axe Rotary Club and

Rotary Clubs worldwide. At its first meeting after the 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision

holding that Rotary and similar clubs must allow female members, the Rotary International

Council on Legislation voted to eliminate the requirement that membership in Rotary clubs be

limited to men. The first woman member of the Bad Axe Rotary Club was Bev Gahagan.

Linda Herman was the first woman President, in 1997-98.

The Club's activities in the early 1990s were similar to what they are today. In those years, the

Club held its Spaghetti Supper and Radio Auction fundraisers, performed its twice-per-year

Adopt-A-Highway cleanup, planted shade trees free of cost for Bad Axe residents, and held its

annual summer social event. The Radio Auction, like the Spaghetti Supper, continues to be

held every year. Highway cleanup remains a biannual undertaking to date. The summer social

event, which was originally strictly social, is now combined with the annual officer induction

ceremony. Tree planting has been included in the Club's annual program book every year

since at least 1993, although fewer trees have been planted in recent years.

The Club celebrated its 75th

Anniversary on June 28, 1999 at the installation of officers

ceremony at the Verona Hills Golf Club. Ernie Paulick spoke on the Club's history and

Dominick Gagliardi, District Governor, inducted the Club's new officers.

During the late 1990s, the Club began contributing to a local food pantry, started awarding

additional scholarships to Bad Axe High School graduates, began a Youth and Sports

Committee and participated in Rotary International's Group Study Exchange program. This

program provided young professionals the opportunity to study and work abroad. In

conjunction with the Rotary Club of Middlesbough, Yorkshire, England, the Bad Axe Club

hosted a GSE Team from Yorkshire/Northumberland.

The Bad Axe Club also partnered with the Middlesbough Club, as well as with a Rotary Club

in India, to raise a total of around $20,000 for Sight Savers International. These funds were

used to treat the eyes of newborn children in India at a cost of about 50¢ per dose.

About this time the Club also began to support the Boy Scouts and began holding a Christmas

party at one of its December meetings. In 1998-99 the Club began sponsoring visits of the

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Kelly Miller Circus to Bad Axe. The Club sponsored the circus for about 15 years and

regularly provided free tickets to children who could otherwise not afford to attend.

In the 2000-01 year, the Club began another social event, originally called "LobsterFest" and

later known as the "Steak & Lobster Dinner." This event continued until 2015-16.

In 2003, the Club was asked by Port Austin resident Marc Schillinger -- through his brother,

Bad Axe Rotarian Lou Schillinger -- to work with a Haitian Rotary Club to fund construction

of drinking water wells needed to provide the people of Haiti reliable sources of fresh water.

Marc had become involved with Haiti through several trips he had taken to that country

arranged through his church. The Bad Axe Rotary Club raised approximately $20,000 for the

project -- enough to construct five wells -- through its fundraising effort and matching funds

available from Rotary International.

In 2002-03, the Club started its "20/20 Raffle" as a fundraiser. The 20/20 Raffle continues to

be held up to the present. Also in 2003, the Bad Axe Area Youth Soccer Organization

approached the Club to assist with fund raising efforts for a new concession stand at its soccer

complex. Assisting AYSO with the soccer complex became the focus of the Club's project

honoring the 2005 centennial of Rotary International. The Club established four different

sponsorship levels and sought donations from its members and the community. The

"concession stand," as ultimately completed, featured bathrooms and a pavilion along with

food service facilities. The Club raised the majority of the funds for the $50,000-plus project.

During the 2007-08 year, the Club inaugurated WinterFest, later known as WineFest. This

event, a winetasting fundraiser, has been held every year since 2008 at the Franklin Inn.

In the 2010-11 year, the Club initiated the annual "Dictionary Project," which continues to this

day. Bad Axe Rotary each year donates age-appropriate dictionaries to third graders in the

elementary school and helps the children learn to use them.

In 2003, the Club became a sponsor of the "Shop with a Hero" program. At this annual

Christmas-time event, children from across the county come to the Bad Axe Wal-Mart to shop

for gifts for their family members and friends (and, eventually, themselves) with over 50 area

police officers, Coast Guard members, firefighters and EMS personnel. The Bad Axe Rotary

Club, one of the main sponsors of the event, helps provide the volunteers that wrap the gifts for

the children and heroes when they are finished shopping.

In 2014-15, as most of the Club's objectives in connection with the local soccer program had

been fulfilled, Rotary turned its efforts to the Bad Axe baseball and softball fields, which have

now been renamed "Rotary Park." The Club provided the "seed money" for the recently built

Concession Building which, in addition to providing an improved concession stand, provides

much needed bathroom facilities and storage space for the little league and softball leagues. In

2016, the Club funded the erection of two new remotely operated scoreboards that serve the

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fields. In addition, under a multi-year commitment with the City and the baseball and softball

leagues, the Club will continue to fund various smaller improvements and maintenance needs.

In that year, the Club began purchasing two books each week to present to the Bad Axe High

School library as part of its weekly speaker program. Over $1,000 worth of books were

provided to the library that year.

On October 16, 2015, the Club sponsored the Harlem Ambassadors basketball exhibition team

at Bad Axe High School. The team, similar to the Harlem Globetrotters, played a fun-filled

basketball game against a local team made up of Rotarians and other Bad Axe residents who

dared take the floor. The Ambassadors also presented a great message to Bad Axe youth based

on the values of staying in school, staying off drugs and fostering racial harmony.

During 2016-17, Bad Axe Rotary's literacy efforts included building, installing and stocking a

"Little Free Library" on the east side of town at Courtney Manor and collecting over 700

children's books to be sent to the Philippines to restock schools and libraries that were

decimated by typhoons. These projects were the brainchild of that year's District Governor

Cheryl Peterson.

Bad Axe Rotary also continues to award scholarships to deserving Bad Axe High School

seniors irrespective of their intended field of study. In 2016, Rotary awarded three $1,000

scholarships in addition to the $1,500 Norah Dowde Music Scholarship.

In addition to the projects mentioned above, the Club has long supported local organizations

through donations. In the last few years, Bad Axe Rotary has supported almost 20 local

charities, causes and civic organizations each year. Organizations that Bad Axe Rotary

supported during 2016-17 include various programs at the Bad Axe schools, the Bad Axe

Memorial Day Parade, the Bad Axe Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing Fundraiser, local

livestock associations, youth sports programs, children's health efforts, educational projects,

and programs to benefit the less fortunate. Finally, every year the Club supports the Rotary

International Foundation through donations to both its general fund and its special fund, Polio

Plus, which underwrites Rotary's continuing efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.

* * *

The primary sources for this document are:

Huron County Tribune, June 13, 1924.

Forrest Ridgely, "Facts About Bad Axe Rotary Club," February 21, 1943.

Program, Bad Axe Rotary Club and Parent-Teachers Association, "Burnt Cork

Melodies," Minstrel Show, April 23 & 24, 1953.

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Program, Rotary's Golden Anniversary, 1905-1955, Bad Axe Rotary Club, Bad Axe,

Michigan, Golden Anniversary Dinner, Monday, February 28, 1955 -- 7 p.m. -- Bad

Axe High School.

Program, Bad Axe Rotary Club, "the marriage of Robin Crow to Mr. Cheep Vulture,

II", November 7, 1968, Bad Axe High School.

Program, Bad Axe Rotary's Golden Anniversary, 1924-1974, Golden Anniversary

Dinner, Monday, June 24, 1974, Pointe Aux Barques Resort.

Program, Bad Axe Rotary Club, 75th

Anniversary Celebration, Follow Your Rotary

Dream (June 28, 1999).

Program Brochure, Bad Axe Rotary Club, The Rotary Follies -- That's Vaudeville????",

March 20th

and 21st, Bad Axe High School.

Program, Bad Axe Rotary Club, "The Shameful, Sexy Sixties -- A 'Laugh In' Review,"

November 10th

and 11th

, Bad Axe High School.

Annual Rotary Club meeting schedule booklets for 1993-94, 1998-99, 1999-2000,

2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15,

2015-16 & 2016-17.

Additional information provided by Bad Axe Rotarians Douglas Brining, Peter B. Capling,

David Herrington, Mimi Herrington, William MacAlpine, Lowell McDonald, Ernie Paulick

and Jim Volk.

Photo 1

Photo 2. Uncle Gotrocks (Chuck Todd) and Aunt Gotrocks (Jim Volk) are pictures as the first

wedding guests in “The Womanless Wedding” which will be presented by the Bad Axe Rotary

Club Thursday night. About 40 Rotarians will take part in the comedy with many playing the

parts of woman.

Photo 3. Bad Axe Rotary Club is rehearsing for their comedy production The Sinful, Sexy Sixties

that will be given two nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, November 10 and 11. Among the chorus

girls (you would have a hard time guessing) are, left to right, local banker, Kenneth Gay; State Po-

lice Sgt. Richard LaCosse and Dr. Kenneth Herrington. The club makes money for their many

projects by putting on the play. The last production, The Womanless Wedding, was enjoyed by

adults and children alike and director K. William Pietscher reports that the show is for both adults

and children.

Photo 4.

Bad Axe Rotary Club members of 1974 posed in front of the Huron County Building: Front

row, left to right: Norah Dowde, club pianist, Arthur Ayman, Lee Ross, Harold B. Alexander, treas-

urer Ken MacDonald, president Peter B. Capling, secretary Robert Johnson, Dan A. McDonald,

Leon Bateman, C. Leland Harris.

Second row: Donald R. Clark, John Patterson, Todd A. Ross, Paul Ford, Clare J. Hewens,

Ron Hilla, Edward Gardiner, Peter J. Hebert and George Peterson.

Third row: Francis Hearsch, Phillip Neeb, Jack Carroll, Robert Osborn, Robert Tufts, Phil

Pettie, George Danks.

Back row: Richard Glass, K. William Pietscher, Robert Kerr, Clarence Sageman, Jim Volk,

Charles Todd, Charles Corbishley and Rev. Ross Nicholson.

Members absent when photograph was taken: R.D. Amos, Steve Baker, Joe Dean, Ken Gay,

Dallas Hatch, Dr. Ken Herrington, Alden MacAlpine, Bob McVey, Ed Moore, Sam Murray, Rev.

Austin Pellett, Jim Umphrey, Per Wardhammer.

Photo 5. Norah Dowde