History of the Rotary Club of Auburn
Rotary International was formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1905 by Paul Harris. Feeling the need to become better acquainted with persons of other crafts than his own; he invited several to join him at his office for a meeting. They decided to meet each week at different places of business thereby rotating the meetings.
From this beginning, Club No. 1 of Rotary was born. The first step toward a national and international organization was taken with the establishment of the number 2 club in San Francisco. This has continued until today to the point where there are over 34,000 Rotary Clubs, with nearly 1,200,000 Rotarians, in over 200 countries.
The Auburn Rotary Club grew out of a weekly luncheon meeting of members of the Tahoe Club. With the assistance of the Sacramento Rotary Club, the Auburn Rotary Club was formally chartered on May 20, 1924, as Club No. 1782.
Following were our charter members:
- Jerome Barieau - Civil Engineer - Self
- Frank Bell - Electric Supp. - Bell Electric
- J. E. Bergtholdt - Nurseryman
- Guy Brundage - Comm. Banking - 1stNat’l Bank
- Bert Cassidy - Newspaper - Auburn Journal
- T. L. Chamberlain - Lawyer - Prewett/Chamberlain
- H.S. Clegg - Savings Bank - Placer Co. Bank
- H.M. Cooper - Elect. Power - P.G. & E.
- Mortimer Chester - Minister - St. Lukes’ Church
- George Fay, M.D. - Surgeon - Self
- Verne Ford - Automobiles - Self
- P.B. Goss, Sr. - Secretary - Placer Co. C.of C.
- R.B. Howell - Dentist - Self
- Kenneth Layton - Gasoline - Union Oil Co.
- Wm. Lee - Dry Goods - Wm. G. Lee Co.
- Earl Lukens - Hardware - G.E. Lukens& Sons
- Carl Mehl - Undertaker - Mehl & Hislop
- George Malcom - Groceries - Pay & Tote
- P.N. Smith - Boots/Shoes - Birdsall Shoe Co.
- Joseph Steiner - Hotel - Hotel Auburn
- Walter Reynolds - Life Insurance - New York Life
- E. T. Robie - Lumber - Auburn Lumber Co.
- Fred Stevens - Drugs - Stevens Drug Co.
- James Stewart - Mining Engineer - Self
- H. G. Van-Lennep - Auto Repair - Placer Mach/Auto
By 1926 the club had grown to 48 members and that number remained fairly constant until after World War II when it slowly grew to its current size of over 100 members. Auburn sponsored the Grass Valley Club in 1925 and the Gold Country Rotary Club of Auburn in 1984. Auburn joined the Gold Country Club to sponsor the Auburn Daybreak Club in 1995.
The governing body of this Club are the Board, consisting of eleven members of the club, namely, six directors, the president, president elect, secretary, treasurer and the immediate past president. Directors serve a two year term assigned to one of the six avenues of service. All other board members serve one year terms.
Rotary members are either active or honorary individuals who demonstrate a willingness to serve the community with integrity, compassion, and dedication.
The club meets Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. at the Auburn Elks Lodge, 195 Pine Street, Auburn, CA 95603.
.png)
