The Fairbury Rotary Club (Club 1520) celebrated its 103rd anniversary on Feb. 26, 2023, with a celebration at the Bonham Theatre in Fairbury.Joining in the celebration were current and past District Governors for District 5650, representatives of other Rotary clubs in the district, family members of deceased Rotarians, representatives of organizations for which Fairbury Rotary provides support, and members of the Fairbury Rotary Club. Some in attendance were dressed for the 1920s.
Pictured, Assistant Governor (AG) Janelle Snodgrass and Fairbury Rotary President Lana Likens, District Governor (DG) Barb Bartle, President Lana, Ag Janelle, President Lana, AG Janelle and Past District Governor (PDG) Carol Horner, DG Barb, PDG Mary Garrison and PDG Carol.
Following a social time, a video was shown with congratulations from International President Jennifer Jones; Fairbury Rotary President Lana Likens gave a brief history of the Fairbury Rotary Club; and Brian Aden, Bonham Theatre manager, gave a brief history of the Bonham Theatre. Fairbury Rotary organized in 1920, and the Bonham Theatre opened in 1926. The evening ended with a showing of “Some Like it Hot,” a movie set in the 1920s
Fairbury Rotary was delayed in celebrating its 100th anniversary because of the pandemic.
The Fairbury Rotary Club was organized at the Mary Etta Hotel, on Feb. 14, 1920. Rotary had been established just 15 years earlier, in 1905. Present at the Fairbury Rotary organizational meeting were 19 Charter members and 21 members of the Beatrice Rotary Club (the organizing club.) Rotary International lists the official
Charter date as Feb. 1, 1920, with Fairbury Rotary being charter number 595 (so the 595th Rotary club organized.)
When the group first started weekly meetings were held on Fridays. Records show that at the first meeting each member paid 75 cents – 60 cents for lunch and 15 cents to build the treasury. The first president of Fairbury Rotary was Will Morton.
Fairbury had a member in the first Ambassadorial Scholar class in 1947. Jack Cressman was sponsored by Fairbury Rotary and District 5650. After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln he studied journalism at McGill University in Canada. The Ambassadorial Scholar program no longer exists under that name but scholarships to study abroad are available through the Districts and the Global Grant funds.
Fairbury Club records show that at one time the club sent an exchange student to German, and the club has hosted several group study exchange teams for visits to Fairbury while they were in the United States.
Fairbury Rotary has had one district governor. Fred Preston was District Governor 1956-1957.
Lois Welsh, mother of current club president Lana Likens, was Mr. Preston’s personal secretary during his tenure as district governor, and was able to attend the celebration.
Gary Berke was district governor in 1990-91. He was officially a member of Beatrice, but for many years also retained a membership in the Fairbury club.
Fairbury Rotary has been involved in many service projects over the years. They were part construction of the bus shelter on the northeast corner of the courthouse square. They received district grants to help with the Beatrice, Hebron and Fairbury School backpack programs, to place cornhole in the Fairbury City Park, and to repaint Fairbury’s three tanks (which became a community project, as well.)
In addition the club has been active over the years in highway trash pickup, maintaining a cabin at Camp Jefferson, Bingo at community celebrations, bloodmobile set up, food stands at the Fourth of July flea market, scholarships for high school seniors, student of the month recognition, May Day baskets, holiday raffle, trees and road work in the cemetery, tailgate fund-raisers, joint meetings with Fairbury Kiwanis and Optimist clubs, and donations to a variety of local projects and organizations. Fairbury Rotary has a long-standing tradition of honoring deceased Rotarians in the Fairbury Cemetery with Rotary flags on Memorial Day weekend.
In 2002, Clyde Moore was honored at the age of 95 as a 70-year member of Rotary. Moore passed away at the age of 100 – having attained 75 years of membership in the Fairbury Rotary Club. He said when he joined in 1931 many of the charter members were still active.
Fairbury Rotary’s first woman member was Shirley Howell, who became a member in 1988. (The Supreme Court ruled in favor of women joining to Rotary in 1987.) Shirley was treasurer for many years, and was known as the Fairbury Club’s historian. She was a former Fairbury Mayor and business woman.
Fairbury Rotary currently has 26 Paul Harris Fellows and 2 Benefactors.
The Fairbury Rotary Club would like to thank the community for its support over the past 103 years – and we look forward to many more years of serving our community.