“Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities.” – Orison Swett Marden – 1848-1924 – Author

 

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” – Rick Riordan – Author

 

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy – 1917-1945 – Politician-35th President of the United States

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
(notes provided by the unorthodox and unconventional Paul Conforti)

August 29 will be the inaugural Tom Costello Memorial Golf Challenge with the Rotary Cup awarded to the winning club, plus many other prizes. This from Champaign Rotary’s John Kelley and Sam Banks:  A new tradition is starting with our annual Champaign Rotary Corn Roast and Golf outing.  (This year we are) excited to start a new, fun Rotary competition for a traveling trophy to recognize the Rotary Club golf outing foursome with the best score. We’re inviting Clubs in the district to enter a team (must have three members of your club on the team) and take your “swing” at having the honor of taking home the 2022 “Tom Costello Memorial Cup”. You’ll having bragging rights for a year and the challenge to defend the Cup in 2023. There is also an accompanying Corn Roast one can attend separately for $15 at the Rotary Hill Shelter at Lake of the Woods the same day, August 29th from 5-7m.

The Rotary District 6490 Conference will be held Friday September 16 and 17, at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, just a half block north of Lodgic on State Street (our former meeting venue). The whole conference with be informative and energizing, but if you can only attend part of it, make plans to attend Josh Whitman’s keynote lunch keynote speech on Friday.

September 10th  from 10-noon at the Champaign Church of Christ (1509 W John St, C) Phyllis is coordinating a Feeding Our Kids volunteer event, packaging food for kids for the weekends during the school year.

Saturday Aug. 20th from 10:00 a.m.-Noon – event for Books to Prisoners

Tod announced that DSC is having their Oktoberfest fundraiser on Sept. 24 and is asking for volunteers from 3 to 10 pm.  Tod will update as he gets more info.

 

PROGRAM

Joe Rank introduced Ryan Ross, Curator of the Richmond Welcome Gallery, located in the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S Lincoln Ave, Urbana.

The Richmond Family Welcome Gallery at Alice Campbell Alumni Center is a showcase for the heritage and global impact of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, made possible through the generosity of the late Jack and Marjorie Richmond.

Ryan’s presentation was titled Conservatism, Conformity and the Cold War at the University of Illinois and covered life at the University from 1946 through 1970. (Noteataker note – Paul got to campus in 1970 and back then 1946 to me might as well been pre-historic, but it was only 24 years earlier, and it’s now been a quick 52 years since I first arrived in this community!).

Ryan covered the “Red Scare” of the 1950’s, including the 1953 ousting of University of Illinois President George Stoddard, led by the ironically named UIUC football icon Red Grange. Fueled by the Clabaugh Act, a resolution passed in 1947 by the Illinois General Assembly which prohibited the University of Illinois from providing any of its facilities to subversive, seditious, or otherwise un-American organization, or its representatives. The bill’s sponsor was Champaign Rep. Charles Clabaugh and was specifically directed at the American Youth for Democracy chapter on campus. 

The bill was passed unanimously in the Illinois house and 41-1 in the senate. As a consequence, for the period between 1947 until it was lifted in 1967, politically minded speakers mostly spoke at the University YMCA on Wright Street, essentially across the street from the Quad, but technically not on UIUC property. It was odd that presidential candidate JFK was allowed to speak on the steps of the Auditorium Theater (now called Foellinger) in October 1960. Here is an excerpt from that speech of which Rep Claybaugh may have found seditious:

Mr. Nixon and I campaign for the most important office in the free world, but in my judgment, this is more than a contest between Mr. Nixon and myself. It is more than a contest between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. It is a contest between the contented and the concerned, between those who wish to stand still and those who wish to move ahead.

Ryan moved on to what life was like on campus during this period. Seems I (Paul) just missed events like the Annual Greek Water Fight which ended its final year with a massive show of force by city, county and state law enforcement agencies firing over 100 tear gas cannisters to break up the fun.

The overall message Ryan imparted is that the Richmond Family Welcome Gallery is one impressive place, highlighted by many interactive displays and video presentations about this campus and this community through the years and should be on every locals must see list, especially if you are looking to impress visiting family and friends, because it most certainly will!

 

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  Aug 18th Aug 25th Sept 1st Sept 8th
Introductions Darrell Hoemann Larry Johnson Andrew Kerins Bob La Charite
Reflection Tod Satterthwaite Jarrod Scheunemann Jen Shelby Charlie Smith
Greeters Darrell Hoemann Larry Johnson Andrew Kerins Bob La Charite
Lou Simpson Charlie Smith Mary Kay Smith Cary Woolard
Notetaker Perry Hodson Crane Conforti
Decker Weeding (spot available)   Oktay Baran  
Next Weekend        

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee members listed in parentheses)

 

August 18th – District Governor Connie Walsh

August 25th – Gil Holder will speak about the evolution of the universe (Tom)

September 1st – TBD

September 8th – Donald J. Wuebbles, Emeritus Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UIUC (Bob)

September 15th – TBD (Cary)

September 22nd – TBD (Charlie)

September 29th – Club Social

October 6th – TBD

October 13th – Daily Bread Soup Kitchen will give an overview of its 362 day a year service to the food insecure in our community (Joe)

October 20th – TBD (Mary)

October 27th – TBD (Lisa)

 

 

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

 

August 24 – Allan Penwell

August 30 – Darrell Hoemann

August 30 – Ed Perry

 

September 2 – Andrew Kerins

September 3 – Charlie Smith

September 25 – Tod Satterthwaite