Rotary Log for meeting of October 18, 2018
It was a cold and blustery day at the Portsmouth Country Club. Your scribe was actually glad to be inside at a Rotary meeting instead of outside on the golf course!
We were treated to some great pictures of our Rotary team’s effort to do good in Bangladesh. It is an incredible journey that our fellow Rotarians are on, and we look forward to the full story on their return. Apparently, all of them, except president-elect Leo, are either camera shy or Amish because he was the only one in the pictures.
We learned that former presidents Ben and Ted set sail again for the White Island lighthouse. Once there, they repaired a window and performed various other maintenance jobs. You don't have to be crazy to do that, but it helps.
Tons of announcements today. For starters, every first Wednesday of the month, our club will be preparing dinners at Cross Roads House. We’ll cook from 3 PM to 5 PM and serve from 5 PM to 7 PM. Sign-up sheets will be at our meetings. There are two training sessions, one on October 25 and the other on November 7, both at 5:30 PM. To sign up or if you have any questions, see Tiffany or text her at 603-380-5872. Thank you, Tiffany, for organizing this!
Speaking of volunteering, sign-up sheets will be available at next week’s meeting for tree sales. What??? Is Christmas nearly upon us?? Speaking of signing up for things, we also have sign-up sheets on the tables for Thanksgiving dinner. Make a pie or cook a turkey. My family has done this for several years. The whole experience of the Thanksgiving meal and helping others really adds a whole new flavor to the holiday. Please sign up!
Donna Llewellyn announced that Operation Warm has been a huge success. All but two winter coats for Seacoast children have been distributed! Thank you for this great service, Donna!
On a sad note, former club president and founder of the Christmas tree sales, Art Cole, passed away. President Cleo had us observe a moment of silence for Art. Your scribe had the privilege of knowing Art and he was a genuine and kind guy and a real gentleman. Our club has lost a good man. Our best to his family.
The Rotary historical moment went back to October 16, 1947 when the speaker to 62 Rotarians and guests was the Rev. John Feaster. His subject, appropriately enough was the history of baseball. Little did Rev. Feaster know that 71 years later our beloved Sox would be in the midst of an American League Championship series against the Houston Astros. He might even scratch his head about who are these Astros and what is an AL Championship series? What would be the point with only eight AL teams.
Kate Mitchel, director of the Clipper Farm to School program, was guest speaker. She explained that several Seacoast people became interested in connecting students with farming and local produce. Those folks applied for a $30,000 grant to start the seacoast program. They then obtained a $100,000 grant to implement the effort. It’s become a very successful program that has introduced kids to local fresh food and local farms.
The pictures she showed us were amazing. It is great to see kids getting their hands dirty and learning about everything that goes into producing farm to school food. Stuff like growing, harvesting, cooking, global food issues, composting, tapping maple trees, fishing, and a whole host of other experiences. Fresh air and dirty hands are the best therapy of all!
John Pappas won the raffle…for a second straight week. John, can you say, “Wicked big fine next week”?
Respectfully submitted, Jon Flagg
Photos by Tube Loch
