Newton Rotary Club Meeting Notes November 17, 2021 Barbara Miller, Editor   Call to Order:  The meeting was called to order at 12:15 by President Laura.  Prayer was offered by Mark Hontz, and the singing of America the Beautiful was led by Steve Wescott.   Guests:  This was a day to welcome several Rotary wives:  Wayne introduced his wife Marge McCabe, Frank introduced his wife, Elaine Eberhart, John introduced his wife, Val Frank, and Bob introduced his wife, Kathy Shankman.  Buz Tomasino enthusiastically welcomed not only our guests but all Rotarians to the meeting.   New Member Induction:  This was the day Bob Shankman has been anxiously waiting for—his wife Kathy was welcomed into the club and will now be paying for her own lunch!!  Steve spoke about the importance of membership in Rotary and the many programs Rotarians participate in both locally and globally, and Bob provided some insight into the “real” Kathy that he knows so well.  Although he has joked about her paying for her own lunch, it was obvious he is very proud of her and happy that she is now officially a Newton Rotarian!    Happy Dollars:  There were many happy dollars shared, some for our new member and some for the presence of wives, and some which have escaped me.  Our speaker, John Frank, was particularly happy to have Val at the meeting, as he was afraid no one would show up to hear him speak!!!   Speaker:  John spoke about some of the “traditions of Rotary” that are no longer practiced.  In particular, he spoke about Newton Rotary’s meetings many years ago first at the Cochran House and then at the “Newtonian Inn” (now the Hampton Diner).  Although there was no drinking “at” the meeting, it was not uncommon for it to be a 3-martini luncheon, after which the bankers and doctors would commence with a game of golf because Wednesday afternoons were days off from the office setting.    Dress in those days was also very different:  men wore jackets and ties and the term “casual” meant dress pants and a shirt with a collar—no jeans were ever worn to a Rotary event (John did share that he does not even own a pair of jeans!!!).  There was much more of a formality to dress at Rotary meetings than there is today.   Another tradition that was a part of Rotary meetings was singing.  This went well beyond what is done today when we sing a patriotic song at the start of the meeting.  There were Rotary song sheets, and each week two or three Rotary songs would be sung   John gave us a very short rendition of “R-O-T-A-R-Y, that spells Rotary”!   Lastly, John spoke about “Fines” that were a big part of every Rotary meeting.  The Sergeant at Arms would be on the lookout for those who forgot their pin or their badge, or who called someone by their last name, or who sat at a table with Rotary members of the same classification!   He would then collect 25 cent fines for these “offenses”, and these later became 50 cent fines and $1 fines.  That tradition has also fallen by the wayside.   Lots of fun hearing about the traditions of Rotary!  Thank you, John.   50/50:  Steve won $9 but left the bigger pot to continue growing.   President Laura adjourned the meeting at 1:15 p.m.