[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF CHICAGO'S SERVICE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on February 23, 1905, Paul 
Harris, a Chicago attorney, invited three friends to a meeting: 
Sylvester Schiele, a coal dealer; Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor; and 
Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer. All four men gathered in Loehr's 
business office in room 711 of the Unity Building at 127 North Dearborn 
Street in downtown Chicago, which is my district. They discussed 
Harris' idea that business needed to meet periodically to enjoy 
camaraderie and to enlarge the circle of business and professional 
acquaintances.
  The club met weekly. Membership was limited to one representative 
from each business and profession. Though the men did not use the term 
``rotary'' that night, that gathering is commonly regarded as the first 
Rotary Club meeting. The name ``rotary'' was suggested later on by Paul 
Harris as meetings were rotated from office to office in the early days 
of the organization.
  During the early days, the Rotarians realized that fellowship and 
mutual self-interest were not enough to keep a club of busy 
professionals meeting each week. Reaching out to improve the lives of 
the less fortunate proved to be an even more powerful motivation. The 
Rotary commitment to service began when the Rotary Club of Chicago 
donated a horse to a preacher so that he could make the rounds of his 
churches and parishioners. A few weeks later, the club constructed 
Chicago's first public lavatory. These actions of service and 
improvement of communities continued in 1967 to support the pediatric 
program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
  Of course, through the years, these services have continued and they 
have continued to make valuable contributions to the most needy members 
of our society.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I warmly congratulate the Rotary Club of Chicago for 
100 years of service, making a difference in the lives of the less 
fortunate and showing the true commitment of business leaders to 
strengthen our local and global communities. I wish the club another 
100 years of service and Tuesday lunches in downtown Chicago.

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