PAGE 2, WHITBY FREE PRESS,THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1973 Coinjuedrorpm page J CLUB CONTINUED who organized a small group of young men who met in each others offices and places of business on a rotating basis, hence the name Rotary. At the out- set the purpose of the or- ganization was to provide fellowship and compan- ionship, but this soon gave way to the concept of a group wanting to help and serve others and the well known motto of Rotary-- "Service Above Self". A cornerstone of Rotary has been the classification pri- nciple whereby one repre- sentative member of each business, profession or trade is accepted for mem- bership. This ensures that the membership is made up of a cross section of the community. The record of the Ro- tary Club of Whitby's ef- forts on behalf of the Community is a lengthy one. Since its founding the club has assisted han- dicapped children and for many years has been a participating club in the Easter Seal campaign of the Ontario Society for Crippled Children, an or- ganization whose work has resulted in Ontario having the finest treatment facili- ties in the world for the handicapped. Locally, th- ousands of dollars have been spent for drugs, treat- ments, and orthopedic ap- pliances for children in the area and the club lias sent many local children to the Blue Mountain Camp at Collingwood for a holiday combining therapy with recreation. ln the depres- sion years of the thirties, the club provided milk for local schools and general welfare for needy families. In 1952 the club contri- buted to the pool facili- ties at Kinsmen Park by providing the bath house and change rooms at a cost of several thousand dollars and when the Whi- tby Community Arena was built on the property made available by the Kinsmen Club, the Whitby Rotary Club provided the perma- ent floor for the new a- rena which allowed year round use for roller skat- Area hospitals have also been the recipients of gen- erous support from the club. Over the years the Oshawa, Ajax-Pickering and Dr. J.O. Ruddy hos- pitals have received funds for building and expansion campaigns. The youth of the com- munity have always re- ceived the attention of the club with prizes and a- wards to students in lo- cal schools, and the send- ing of students to Ottawa each year for an "Adven- ture in Citizenship", when Rotary clubs from across the nation send young peo- ple to the capitol to wit- ness government in action. Minor sporting groups re- ceive continuous support and in the early fifties the Rotary club organized the Whitby Rotary Figure Skating Club and operated the club for many years. When the organization was firmly established it was launched on its own to become the Whitby Figure Skating Club. During World War IH the Whitby Lawn Bowling and Tennis Club was about to be sold for the non payment of taxes when the Rotary Club stepped in, took over the property and main- tained it as a recreation facility. Five years ago the club became interested in the plight of senior ci- tizens faced with rising ho- using costs and after in- tensive study of projects carried out by other clubs, notably the Rotary Club of Oakville, the local club embarked on a proposal to erect an apartment for senior citizens on a por- tion of the property. The project was beset by a series of legal entanglem- ents and procedural de- lays and the original plan for a building owned and operated on a non-profit basis by the club was ab- andoned and the property sold to the Ontario Hou- sing Corporation who are to begin construction of a senior citizen's housing u- nit this vear. The club has also shown its interest in the elderly with its an- nual Christmas party for senior citizens and last Christmas had bus tours for the elderly to see the Christmas lights of the a- rea. The club has long been a supporter of the Rotary Foundation, a pro- gramme which offers fel- lowships for post-graduate studies in other countries in the hope that a better understanding of others will contribute to peace and good will among na- tions. For its work in the community the club has employed many means of fund raising, some quite unique. In early years, the club and the Royal Canadian Legion jointly held street fairs. In the late forties and early fif- ties the club was "in agri- culture" producing peas, corn and pumpkin for Sto- kely Van Camp on unused land provided by farmers of the district. Members of the club rolled up their sleeves, planted cultivated and took off the crops. In the early part of the century Whitby was on the tour of theatrical and min- strel groups who travelled the country, and when these groups became ex- tinct the shows were pro- duced by local groups. The Rotary Minstrels be- came a tradition in the springtime of the year when the shows were put on in the auditorium of the old Town Hall on Brock St. S. with its in- comparable acoustics, and these productions gave way to the Rotary Revue, the annual variety concert pro- duced by the club. The club has also raised funds with a "Mile of Coin", square dances, the sale of rose bushes, fire extingui- shers, etc. and in recent years has held the Rotary reas in which the Rotary Club of Whitby makes a contribution to the com- munity and its citizens, young and old, and a fact obvious to those who are aware of community hap- penings, is that whenever any worthwhile, communi- ty project is being carried out, Rotarians are in the front rank of those offer- ing themselves for commu- nity service. Neil C. Murkar Pres. Rotary Club of Whit- by, 1957-58 readers write Dear Editor: After reading the Whit- by Free Press of May 3rd, the writer couldn't help but express his opinion regarding the proposed new arena. The heading reads "Council Tables A- rena Decision". Firstly, 1 am not involved in the Construction Business nor are my relatives, etc. How- ever, it would seem when tenders are called for, I didn't recall anyonc say- ing local contractors only Be that as it may, I sug- gest council get off their hands and make the de- cision to build without further delay. My experi- ence with other communi- ties ha. shown that if we do not provide a full faci- lities arena, it does not filI the purpose it was meant to do. As an exam- ple, let't include an ade- quate banquet hall. This would allow the various hockey clubs in Whitby to hold their dances, hoc- key banquets or any other worthwhile venture. It is obvious to most concern- ed people that should con- struction start tomorrow on the new arena that our children won't be using this arena for the begin- ning of the 73-74 hockey season. Therefore, I sug- gest Council, implement the building of our new arena without further de- lay. W. A. Jones 136 Calais St. Whitby, Ontarno Dear Sir: The phrase "an odd sense of humour" is certainly dra- matized by the picture and caption on Page 8 of the April 26 edition of the Free Press. What your photogra- pher sees humorous about being misinformed eludes me. Had he taken the time to in- vestigate he would have found that the apartment referred to is not being built on Lawn Bowling property at all, but on the area behind the greens. This to me is just one more example of the irresponsible journalism so frequently used today-print the story now and get the facts later-after the public has been deluded. I do hope Mr. Burgess is "roving" around during the summer when the greens are being used by the Lawn Bowl- ing Club and takes a photo from the same position as this one was takep, it might help to wipe the egg from his face. Yours Albert Knibb, President, W.L.B.C. 1241 Hillcrest Drive, Whitby, Ontario. EDITOR'S NOTE: Dear Mr. Knibb, it seenis a shame that you took offence to this photo and caption as there was certainly no ridicule in- tended. And about "delud- ing" the public, it appears Continued on page 3