When the outgoing president, Harold Michael, presented the incoming president, Larry Lane, with the gavel, at the first meeting in July,
1974, he thanked all concerned for their help during the year with especial thanks to Howard Porsch who was just completing 25 years service as treasurer of the Club. Later, the Board of Directors approved a resolution
commending Porsch, had it framed, and presented it to Howie. This year was a very active one so far as Exchange Students and Rotary Fellows was concerned. Aike Hasebe of Japan and Vivian Fallon of Buenes
Aires, Argentina, Rotary Fellows, gave the club an excellent program in February. Jurgen Grossman of West Germany, thanked Rotary for the help given him during his year at Purdue. Susan Christoffers from Germany arrived
as an exchange student to attend West Lafayette High School. Fusaka Ishi of Japan was an exchange student from Germany at West Side High the past year, left for home. There was Bob Michael of Jeff High, leaving for
Japan; Linda Henderson of Central Catholic, leaving for Brazil; Mary Alice Arthur was bound for Sweden; Janet Tobias for Austria; and Sharon Bray for Scandinavia. Steve Paifrey of West Side spent a year in Sweden and
Mark Jackson was headed out. Jim DeMay was a graduate fellow in Denmark.
Rotary helped with a dinner at the Home Hospital Fair under the leadership of Ed McGuire and crew. The annual Stag Party was held at
Rotary Park with Herm Andre and Y.B. Hall in charge and the dinner for new members and their wives was held at the Lafayette Country Club.
Oscar Lowery, District Governor from Plainfield, and a former
member of the Lafayette Club, made his official visit and stressed the importance of each individual Rotarian in advancing the objects of Rotary.
Thanksgiving time saw the joint meeting of Rotary and
Kiwanis. Ken Botkin chaired an excellent drive for Salvation Army funds that raised $2,300 but for the first time in many years Rotary did not top the amount that Kiwanis raised. And at Christmas, the Jefferson High
Acappella Choir treated us to excelletit musical program.
In December, Rotary International President, William Robbins addressed the Indianapolis Club and 12 Lafayette Rotarians went down to meet with
them.
The Fellowship-Dinner-Dance in February was held at the Hilton Inn and was a huge success. Larry Lane presided at the Holy Week Service held in the Mars Theatre with Bob Verplank leading singing and Rudy Mahara
singing a solo. The Rev. John Parke had the sermon. After, lunch was served at the Y.M.C.A. Rotary hosted 55 adult 4-H leaders who were at Purdue for a training conference and at the Scholarship-Citizenship Awards
dinner for the selected High School Seniors, Mrs. Arthur Hansen, wife of Purdue's president, gave a very interesting talk.
The annual Intercity Rotary Ladies night drew 315 people from 14 Rotary clubs to
hear the Purdue Glee Club, but the usual Rotary-Glee Club Stag Party had to be cancelled because no available date could be found.
Dues to the club were raised from $44 to $54 annually. A new Lafayette
Rotary Club banner was designed and adopted. Walt Gibson, a driving force in the Colt World Series Baseball Tourney, pushed the sale of tickets with gusto and had Tuesday, August 20th designated as Rotary Night at the
tourney.
Other programs of note included a visit to the club by Floyd Fithian, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 2nd District. He talked on the energy crisis.
James Andrews, president of the Wabash Valley Trust and Historic Preservation, reported on the work of that organization since its founding in 1973. Three buildings at the Soldier's Home are now on the Federal Register
and their destruction will be prevented. The Commissioner of the High School Athletic Association, Phil Askew, told us that 95% of the kids today are O.K. in spite of crazy parents. He said the kids want discipline.
Edgar Whitcomb, former Indiana governor, speaking on possibilities of world trade, said that our state's share must come through free enterprise and not through government.
Richard Battaglia and Decia Funkhouser
presented interesting information about horses -breeds, cost of maintaining, etc., climaxing with bringing a live horse valued at $20,000 into the dining room. (He was very well behaved).
Bob Verplank of
White Freight Line Sales, Inc., hosted the club at his place of business on Rd. 25 and Larry Oliphant, V.P. of White Motor Co., told of the importance of trucks in our transportation system.
Varro Tyler gave an
excellent report on Purdue's Pharmacy School and Harold Michael gave an outstanding talk on the meaning of Vocational Service in Rotary. David Landorebe gave a fine illustrated talk on LARS (Laboratory for Application
of Remote Sensing). Data from this project obtained from a satellite circling the globe at 570 miles up aids in land use, location of minerals and other uses.
Joe Vargo, Public Relations Director of the
Indianapolis Racers told about the new Indianapolis hockey team, explained the rules of the game and showed a film about ice hockey. The Mayor of Indianapolis, Dick Lugar, when he addressed the club, expressed concern
for the unemployed of the nation, stressing the need for $650 billion of new capital. And Alex Carroll, V.P. of TMAK, talked about inflation. Deficit spending, over regulation and economic illiteracy were cited as being
the chief causes of the inflation that threatens to ruin our free enterprise system.
The year 1974 marked the successful end to a campaign to raise funds for a new YWCA when pledges of $938,000 were
received. The site would be 6th and Cincinnati St. Al Stewart was named executive director of Heritage 75-76 to plan and carry out celebrations of the sesquicentennial of Lafayette in 1976 and the U.S. bicentennial in
1976. Wabash Valley Hospital Mental Center was opened with Dr. Richard Rahdert the director and the A.E. Staley Co. later announced plans to build a plant producing artificial sweeteners from corn on 94 acres southeast
of Lafayette.
On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States after 18 months of denials and counter charges about his participation in the Watergate case. Resignation followed
a bi-partisan recommendation of Impeachment by the House Judiciary committee. Vice President Ford was immediately sworn in as President. Less than a month later, Ford granted Nixon a pardon feeling that it was for the
good of the nation.
Oil price increases and two digit inflation led to sever economic depression in the U.S. and a big drop in stock prices. Patricia Hearst was kidnapped.
In other parts of the world,
Egypt, Syria and Israel signed disengagement agreements requiring a partial Israeli pullback along the Syrian border and in Sinai. International teams began the clearing of the Suez canal, blocked since 1967. Russian
author, Alex Sohzhenitsgn was exiled.
The Vietnam War came to a rapid conclusion in April and May 1975 as the pro-American government of South Vietnam, and Cambodia succumbed to communist forces and the U.S.
personnel were evacuated. About 150,000 Vietnamese refugees fled to the U.S.
