06/03/16 Club Photo Session
Posted by Bob Martin
Editorial Note: I accept full responsibility for my oversight in omitting the official write-up from our own club reporter of our photo session on June 3rd. With due respect for and my sincere apologies to Bob Martin, his excellent article is included and our newsletter is re-issued. L. Rowe
We stood on the steps of City Hall, 92 of us, all Rotarians, and one baby, secure in his mom’s front pack. The bustle of the city rushed back and forth on Congress Street—a fire truck on its way to an emergency, delivery vans, cars, pedestrians walked by, wondering about our gathering, and the familiar faces of lawyers and judges who passed by on the way to the rear of the building for a memorial service in Merrill Hall. We joked and teased as we jostled into place, herded by President Bowen into a lineup on the risers by when we became members, oldest on the lower steps, more recent toward the back.
We stood on the steps of City Hall, 92 of us, all Rotarians, to memorialize our Centennial Anniversary as a club, a fellowship chartered in 1915 for fellowship and service. No one used the term “networking” back then. Neither did the club include women. The faces in our photograph will include those of women, people of color, observers of many of the world’s religions, those whose families have been a part of the Maine landscape for many generations, and those who just moved here. Faces who have seen combat at Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Vietnam, and Iraq. Faces of Rotarians who teach; practice law; heal the sick; lift up the less fortunate and unhappy; inspire; sell stocks, bonds, and real estate; engage in banking and finance; politics; provide advice and counsel; print; market furniture or appliances; and all manner of occupations that support and sustain a community. And faces of those who have retired from active jobs.
We stood on the steps of City Hall, 92 of us, all Rotarians, at ease with one another, without agenda or design, all sharing our common mission to serve our community in food kitchens and shelters, schools and prisons, in Maine, and in other countries, without calling attention to our individual roles in what we do, but more desirous of inviting others to join our group.
We stood on the steps of City Hall, 92 of us, all Rotarians, pausing for a few minutes to accommodate the directions of the photographer engaged to create our image for history. It was 61 degrees, and cloudy; the Dow Jones closed at 17,807.06; Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump continued to recruit votes on the pre-convention campaign trail; 1,500 people attended Peter DeTroy’s memorial service in Merrill Auditorium; and Muhammad Ali passed away at 74.