Et cetera : Vinton Kiwanis Club marks 70th year

November, 1947. Allan B. Kline, the Vinton farmer and seed dealer, ended his term as Iowa Farm Bureau President, just before becoming the president of the national organization. I still remember the mirror on my grandparent's wall, with Kline's name on it, and a tiny round area with a few kernels of corn in it. "Solon" was a word newspapers used in headlines, not referring to the eastern Iowa city, but as a word referring to Politicians. I had to look that up. Solon, by the way, is a now-forgotten headline word that means "politician." It refers to a Greek leader by that name who lived in Athens around 600 B.C. Phillip became the Duke of Edinburgh when he married Princess Elizabeth, who is now the Queen Elizabeth II of England. Next to a large photo of Elizabeth in her wedding gown, is a completely unrelated headline in the Nov. 20, 1947, issue of the local newspaper, announcing that a group of local residents is celebrating this week: "Kiwanis Club Launched by Vinton Men." The story told how the local group began with the help of the Cedar Rapids Kiwanis Club, and how charter members chose Ernest Kammerer, who at the time was manager of the Vinton Palace Theatre, and had worked to organize the group, as its first president. It's been seventy years since then, and the Vinton Kiwanis Club members heard a brief history of their club as well as the international organization, during their weekly meeting at The Pizza Ranch, which in 1947, had been the home of the Ervin auto dealership. Keith Ervin, who served as Kiwanis Club President 42 years ago, sat with the group on Tuesday, in the meeting room which had years ago been part of the dealerships service garage. One of the restaurant's meeting rooms is called the "Ervin Room." During Tuesday's meeting, President-Elect Tom Husnik shared a slide presentation that summarized the mission and history of the local group as well as the international Kiwanis organization. Currently, the Vinton club is one of more than 7,000 clubs worldwide; there are more than 350,000 Kiwanis members in 81 different countries. Husnik shared Kiwanis motto: "Helping the children of the world." He then discussed the six "objects," or objectives of the Kiwanis organization: Object 1:To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life. Object 2:To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships. Object 3:To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business and professional standards. Object 4:To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenship. Object 5:To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service and to build better communities. Object 6:To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and good will. Tuesday's luncheon also included the display of some scrapbooks including information, articles and bills concerning the Kiwanis Pancake Day from the 60s and 70s. During the mid-60s, the event lasted nearly 12 hours and offered all-you-can-eat breakfasts for just $1. President-Elect Tom Husnik shares some history of the Kiwanis organization and the Vinton club on Tuesday, as they celebrated their 70th anniversary. Husnik also explained how that the Kiwanis have two funds. The membership dues goes into the administrative fund, while all money raised from fund-raisers and donations from the public goes directly to service projects to benefit area children. He also passed out informational brochures to members, encouraging them to invite others to join the club. Anyone who wants to be part of the group's effort to help children is invited to join Kiwanis. Husnik said that the membership fee of $400 per year is less than $8 per week, and includes the cost of the meals the members eat during weekly meetings. There was also a brief discussion about the word "Kiwanis." While the official Kiwanis pages say the word Kiwanis comes from a Detroit-area Indian tribe word that means "We trade," which the club organizers translated as "We Build." However, a more modern understading of that word indicate that it means "We make noise," or "We play with noise." The original Kiwanis motto was "We build;" the group adopted its new motto in 2005. Tuesday's meeting ended with cake, decorated with the Kiwanis logo and served to members by President Christine Kelchen. The local Kiwanis club continues to work on projects, including the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Kiwanis Park, where the local club is among the major contributors to the splash pad that the Vinton Parks and Recreation Department is raising money to build. Next week, the club will continue one of its newer traditions, passing out dictionaries Nov. 21 at Tilford Elementary. The group has sponsored the dictionaries for 3rd-graders for the past several years. Club member Lexa Spiedel passed out books to Shellsburg 3rd graders this week.