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“THE RENEGADE REPORT” Report #1 GOLDEN K KIWANIS CLUB OF DECATUR To set the stage for this brief history of the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Decatur it might help to review the history of Kiwanis International itself. In 1914 a man named Allen S. Browne, a Detroit businessman, had an idea for a social club composed of business and professional men with the aim of nurturing interaction within the business community of the city. He talked the idea over with several of his business acquaintances and found quite a bit of interest. With that encouragement he began recruiting and in a fairly short time had put together a cadre of members, the first of who was a men's tailor named Joe Prance. A group was formed with Browne as its leader and Prance as second in command. The name chosen for the club was "Kiwanis" a word derived from a local Indian term which roughly translated means "We trade" or "We get together". Browne applied to the State of Michigan for a charter and on January 21, 1915 one was issued and the first Kiwanis Club was officially formed. Its president was George Hixon for whom the Hixon Fellowship is named. The purpose of the club was to promote trade among its members. Early on there was no thought given to the public service angle in club activities; but that was soon to change By 1919 Kiwanis had grown to a rather substantial number of clubs which meant Browne, who still owned the charter, was doing quite well and, according to several accounts, was becoming a nuisance. In reading between the lines in an old book entitled, ‘The Men Who Wear the K", a history of Kiwanis, one gets the impression that Browne was a" hustler" and a bit of a martinet As a result, in 1919, a group of Kiwanis members bought the charter from Browne and changed the philosophy of the clubs from "Business promotion" to "Community service" and so it has been since, most recently with particular emphasis on aid to children and the elderly. The first Kiwanis Club in Decatur was chartered in 1920. It was called "The Kiwanis Club of Decatur". At the time there were 265 clubs with 28,500 members in all of Kiwanis. To give the reader an idea of how far Kiwanis has come in its first 90 years of existence it had grown to 8442 clubs (that includes Builders Clubs, Key Clubs, Circle K and Kiwanis clubs) with 293,500 members in 94 nations and geographic locations. It wasn't until 1961, however, that Kiwanis became "International" with the formation of clubs in Mexico and the Bahamas. There had been a club in Hamilton, Ontario since 1916 but I guess that wasn't considered international since it was just across the river from Detroit. A second Kiwanis Club was chartered here in Decatur in 1975. It was called the "Early Birds Kiwanis Club". It like Golden K is a breakfast club and was set up to accommodate those business people for whom an early hour was more convenient (and for chronic insomniacs). That same year, 1975, the first ever Kiwanis club meant to accommodate "older members" was formed in Greenville, NC. The members chose the name "Golden K Kiwanis Club", Kiwanis International agreed to the name, a charter was granted and the Golden K movement was on its way. It wasn't without some resistance that Golden K got started. Many of the clubs saw this movement as a threat to their membership levels and to their ability to recruit older men into their clubs. Their Report #2 In report #1, we learned that there was dissatisfaction with the name “Benevolent Order of Brothers”..... members known as “Bobs”, for short. What to do? When that is the question, “form a committee” is the answer. The New Name committee contacted Detroit’s official historian, Clarence M. Burton, for assistance. Being a busy man, Burton delayed. Pressure came through his secretary to speed up the process.... as both the secretary and a committee member were members of the same Methodist church. It worked. Allen Browne met with Burton. Burton suggested “Kiwanis”, an Indian name with the rough meaning “we trade”. At a meeting of 35 Bobs, it was unanimously voted to transform themselves into 35 Kiwanisers..... only later to become Kiwanians. That name seemed acceptable at that time, but later, working with a dictionary of the Otchipwe language, the meaning came closer to “we have a good time - we make noise”. This definition implied each member of the order “toots his own horn”. By the time of the first national president, George F. Hixson, the spin on the name had changed to “I trade”. Following this, the first national secretary, Albert Dodge, came up with “to barter or to trade”. And following this, 1922-23 national president, George Ross, came up with “rebuild” - from a story of a Canadian native seeing a “K” on the lapel of a member. Not to be outdone, 1924-25 national president Victor M. Johnson explained Kiwanis..... “to impress”. In the end, Burton’s help became a puzzle. But later history, almost 100 years of it, resolved the puzzle. Everyone today knows that the meaning of Kiwanis is “service”....confirmed by any dictionary. Report #3
Going back to Report #1, there were
two problems facing the Detroit #1 The second problem caused the Detroit Club to plummet from a membership of 250 to 50 in the summer of 1915. What kind of a problem would cause a club to crash in such a short time period? The French have a term for it.....”raison d’etre”....our reason for being. Who are we and what is our justification for existence? Allen Simpson Browne’s idea was “we trade”. His vision was a businessmen’s club with social aspects. Membership in such a club ensured patronage from other members of the club. In other words, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” There was an element of greed involved in joining the club. Sadly, most of the members of the Detroit Club bought into Browne’s idea. Enter the evolutionists....those club members who envisioned another justification for existence. A small group believed that if the club was to succeed, it needed to offer community service of a philanthropic nature. First Detroit Club president Don Johnston stated, “At present, we have two factions. One is made up of those who have been misled - a trade group, let us call it.....while on the other side stands a body of men who believe that this club should be operated under the main principle of the Golden Rule.....”
By the end of 1915, membership
climbed upward to 130 - all of whom knew the organization’s exact
purpose. Listen to the wisdom of Johnston.... “All problems are
solvable - if you but listen to the
(The above summary is from Chuck
Jonak’s book “Building Communities Report #4
From the beginning, “humor and fun” moved Kiwanians. Roe
Fulkerson,
the first editor of the Kiwanis “Hornet”, soon to be the Kiwanis
“Torch,” printed this account of “How To Kill, Embalm, And Bury
A
Club”.
1. Don’t come (to meetings).
2. If you do come, come late.
3. If it is too wet, too dry, too hot, too cold, stay home.
4. When you come, be sure to find fault.
5. Don’t do anything to help.
6. Don’t take part in meetings.
7. Try not to encourage the officers. They don’t need it.
8. Believe anything you hear. Never investigate.
9. Don’t pay your dues.
10. If you have a friend who doesn’t belong, use your influence
to
keep him from joining.
11. Consider that the club is conducted for your benefit only.
12. If everything is running smoothly, start something.
If you read the above “tongue in cheek”..... you are on the
right track.
Taken from “Building Communities 1915-1959” by Chuck Jonak
Report #5 |
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