Officers Wallace D. Wolfe, President Harry J. Schilling, Vice President Ernest R. Brown, Secretary William Wallace, Treasurer William O'Rear, Sergeant-at-Arms Directors James D. Hoffman Frank Timberlake William Wallace Cecil Ray Bert Graybill International President Harry H. Rogers Tulsa, Oklahoma International Convention Ostend, Belgium District Governor William Barr (20th) Bluffton, Indiana District Convention Ft. Wayne, Indiana February 21-22, 1927 New Members Harry Ainsworth Richard E. Currey Henry R. Kraybill Clarence Munger Ralph H. Schaupp Lester E. Singer This was the year Colonel Lindberg crossed the Atlantic in "The Spirit of St. Louis." This was the year the International Convention was held at Ostend, Belgium. Fifteen years before Lafayette Rotary was celebrating its silver anniversary, Belgium, recovered from its barbaric invaders, was entertaining in a wonderfully happy manner seven thousand Rotarians and their friends from every corner of the world. It was an inspiring sight to see those three thousand Americans in six great Cunarders from America following one behind another, a mile long, sailing past Dover and across the Channel to little liberty loving Belgium. Sunday was a day of rest, and of strolling up and down the three mile beach, and of visits to many points of interest. King Albert, who had been made an honorary member by the San Francisco Rotary Club when he visited the United States, spoke on the opening day, and later had lunch with a group of many Rotarians. International President-elect Arthur Sapp of Huntington, Indiana, spoke of the organization of clubs in Germany, which when done would leave, he said, "only Russia without Rotary Clubs." This was the picture, one of the smallest countries in all the world; in size that of our own Rotary District, Number 155, one third of the state of Indiana; with a population of only twice that of our state, host to the peoples of forty-three countries. A recovered, happy Belgium; the world at peace; Rotary spreading throughout the land. Fifteen years hence would see Belgium again conquered by the same barbaric hordes, their people slaves, their cities devastated, hunger stalking not only their land but all of their liberty loving neighboring countries, and Rotary's Conventions unable to be held outside of the North American continent. At the District Assembly of Club Presidents and Secretaries held in September, 1926, Chairman Floyd of the Indiana Rotary Riley Hospital Committee reported that subscriptions then totaled $230,120.50 and urged that a special effort be made to obtain the pledges for the balance remaining, about twenty thousand dollars. The Club granted three Winter Course scholarships to students at Purdue University, having adopted the Rural-Urban Relations Committee Plan. This plan, the idea of Orson Lloyd, Charlie Burnett and others was first to create greater interest in Corn Club work, second to provide funds for scholarships to the eight weeks agricultural course at Purdue University. Copyright © 2000 Lafayette Indiana Rotary Club. Please contact Webmaster with any technical comments or questions about this site.