For a century, Watertown residents have gathered to make a difference in their community, make connections, and just to enjoy each other’s company. This week, more than a dozen people celebrated the 100th birthday of the Rotary Club of Watertown.
The first ever Rotary Club meeting was held on Feb. 23, 1905 in Chicago. The organization, which has a motto of “Service Over Self,” now has over 45,000 clubs around the world. Watertown’s Rotary Club began in 1925 and currently holds its weekly luncheon at Donohue’s Bar & Grill.
A more formal celebration is in the planning for later in the year, and it will likely take place in conjunction with the installation of the new president in June. The Rotarians are also in the midst of planning the 2025 Dancing with the Stars event.
Watertown Rotary President Alex Rosin said that the group has changed in the dozen years he has been a member. The Club used to meet at Oakley Country Club, where there would be 10 tables full of members. The past few years have been a challenge for Watertown’s Rotary, and other clubs.
“I think we’re a different Club now, and we’ve been able to shift with some new members and some new focus to to kind of survive,” Rosin said. “Not all Clubs are surviving. There’s a lot of Clubs that are not, be it Rotary or other, they close left and right.”
During the luncheon, members shared their favorite memories of their time in Watertown Rotary.
Rosin said, “I would say my past favorite moment is probably the Senior Citizen Cookout, and my current favorite moment is the kind of the Club as it is today.”
Former President Pat Stenson, who was Watertown’s first female president, said she remembered how at the Rotary board meetings members could sometimes their disagreements, but would come together at the end of the day, often at Greg’s Restaurant.
“I remember Paul (DerBoghosian) jumping up on the table of the conference table, screaming and running out of a room. And you know what an hour later, we all went out, but whatever votes they made, we always went to dinner,” Stenson said. “We always had fun.”
Stenson also encouraged Rotarians to attend meetings in other communities, whether near or far. She recalled a Rotarian from Bermuda who would attend meetings in Watertown when he was in town on business. When she was in Bermuda she contacted he man and he not only hosted her at the Rotary meeting but showed her around the island.
Anna Glover, a past-president, brought programs, newspaper clippings, and other items she collected over the years in Rotary. Some of her fondest memories were attending the Rotary International Convention twice, in Chicago and New Orleans.
Christian Dallas, who joined the club in recent years and will be Rotary President next year, said he has enjoyed the relationships he has formed during his time.
“I think for me, getting started in the Watertown area, this was one of the first places that I had that I was able to come to every week,” he said. “I didn’t know a lot of people, but everybody was extremely kind to me in the Club, in terms of accepting me and everything else. So it kind of started more as just having a place to go and eat lunch with a group of people, but the longer that I’m a part of it, that’s what motivates me to want to continue to pay it forward.”
Raphael Hirsch, another more recent member, said his favorite activity was helping out weeding the green area inside the traffic circle on Common Street. He said gardening is not an activity you will usually find him doing, but he found it calming and allowed him to do some personal reflecting. He ended up writing a piece about the activity that was published on the Rotary website.
Faith Cass, a longtime member, said she recalled the first time she attended a Watertown Rotary meeting.
“Yeah. I certainly was out of place. I sat down and I can’t remember anything (from the meeting). But the gentleman that was sitting across for me was just a very quiet, nice person, and he said, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re here, because I fondly remember your father being right in your seat,'” Cass said. “That was really very nice.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Watertown Rotary welcomed governor of Rotary District 7910, Joyce Graff, who gave some words of congratulations.
“One of the things I admire about your club is that it’s not just same old, same old,” Graff said. “That you are evolving to meet the needs of today’s people who are living these days.”
At the end of the lunch, the Watertown Rotarians enjoyed ice cream cake, and also had a 100th Birthday cake. They posed for a picture to remember the celebration.