Community Service

Community service is a big part of the Charles City Rotary Club, where ‘Service

Above Self’ is not just lip service.

In 1919, 200 metal signs were erected within a radius of 30 miles of Charles City

reading "Charles City - The Tractor Town." In 1920, teams were appointed to solicit

members for the Charles City Building and Loan Association. Coach Howard Jones

and Aubrey Devine of the University of Iowa football team were brought here for the

football banquet in 1921. In 1922, ten dollars was contributed to the City Improvement

Association for their campaign to rid the city of rats. In 1923, the club assisted in the

Farm Bureau membership campaign. Walter Fluent founded the Student Loan

Fund with his International Convention expense money in 1924. In 1925, the club

passed a resolution prohibiting the ringing of the telephone during meetings. In 1926,

the club assumed the responsibilities for taking the High School Band to Council

Bluffs for the state contest. The entire club conducted a publicity campaign in

behalf of Miss Liza Niemack, a local girl who had just returned from her music studies

in Europe. The club purchased football season tickets for each of its members in

1929. The club endorsed the Boy Scouts fund raising campaign and contributed

$100 to it in 1930. In 1931, the dues were reduced from $25 to $15. In 1932, we purchased

25 planks for seats in the park.

The records for 1933-37 were lost in the Hildreth Hotel fire, but in 1936 Miss Gladys

Goddard gave a 15-acre parcel of land along the Cedar River north of town to the

Rotary Club of Charles City. A community park and picnic area was developed and

maintained by the club until 1960, when ownership of the property was transferred from

the Rotary Club to the Floyd County Conservation Commission. The parcel continues

to bear the name "Rotary Park" and serves as a wildlife area. In the summer of 1985,

under the supervision of Dennis Sande, fellow Rotarian volunteers planted over 500

pine trees at Rotary Park to promote soil conservation and provide refuge for wildlife.

In 1940 the "Sparks From the Rotary Wheel" were inaugurated. In 1942, the club

attendance fell into the "cellar" rating in the district. Rotarian Tom Marnette gave his

life in the service of his country in 1943. In 1944, the Student Loan Fund after 20

years showed total assets of $3,293.16 and had loaned $8,217.65 to 34 students. In

1945, a juke box was purchased for Teen Tavern, the youth center. In 1946, the club

was awarded for the best all-around program in the district by the President of

Rotary International, during the presidential term of Leo Schula. In 1947, the club was

awarded the certificate for the most outstanding community service in the district

during the term of Jim Keith. The hospital room fund, which was started in 1947, was

completed in 1948 with a major contribution by Dr. Joe Salsbury. In 1949, "Dean Laun

Day" was sponsored to honor a local boy who played football at Iowa State. Donald

Swartz was elected as the district’s representative in the Rotary Foundation Fellowship

Study in 1950. In 1952 waste receptacles were installed on main street corners. A

foot bridge was built at Camp Christie in 1953. In 1954, a radio series on the "Rotary

Program" was inaugurated on radio station KCHA.

When the new Floyd County Memorial Hospital was completed, the club completely

outfitted one room. For years an annual project to support the local hospital, and

add a measure of comfort to the patients, included the acquisition of wall hangings

which have been created by local artists. This has proven to be an excellent support of

the Charles City Arts Council and an appreciated contribution to the hospital and the

patients.

In 1981, the Shell Rock Music Association presented a show as a part of the District

Conference in Charles City. The success of the show and the acceptance of the group

by local fine art patrons established the event as a long-time annual project of the club.

Proceeds were used for community service project. In 1983 the proceeds were donated

for the restoration of the Junior High School Auditorium. The 1984 proceeds were

donated to the construction of the Senior Citizens Center in Charles City.

The club in 1991 constructed sun arbors at the ‘new’ Lions Field Municipal

Swimming Pool. Then in 1994 the Charles City Rotary and Lions clubs joined forces to

raise funds and provide the labor to construct a large community playground at Lions

Field Park, adjacent to the swimming pool. The fund-raising campaign was so successful

that there was enough left over after construction of the playground to use as

seed money for a new community recreational trial along the Cedar River.

Rotarians used their experience with the Lions Field Park playground to help the

Lincoln parents Organization assemble the new playground equipment at Lincoln

Elementary School in 2000.

In 2001 the club took on the massive project of re-painting every fire hydrant in

town as a fund-raiser, and in 2002 hosted a pasta supper fund-raiser at the Middle

School as Charles City welcomed the 10,000-plus participants in the Register’s Annual

Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). The club also donated a portable defibrillator

to the Charles City Police Department to be carried in squad cars for faster treatment

in health emergencies.

And in 2003, for its Rotary International centennial project, the Charles City Club purchased

and erected three wooden archways for the new Friends Garden established

at the head of the community recreational trail. The garden was created in memory

of Rotarian Robert Jakoubek, who passed away in 2002 and helped spearhead the

trail project.