Service Above Self: 1939 to the 1990s

By Kitt Brand on January 30, 2025.

It is now the 1930s. Severe dust storms and droughts in three waves have affected the Canadian prairies. The Depression devastates all of North America. There is economic, ecological and agricultural damage resulting in migration and political change.

Through the bad years, the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat actively helped the unemployed, the destitute and their families with food baskets, school meals and medical assistance.

By 1939, the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat quietly noted its 21st anniversary. It continued its work based on four ethical principles: Is it the Truth? Is it Fair to all concerned? Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships? Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Apparently, those ideals drew followers. After the Depression, membership in the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat re-grew to 53, which says something about the values of local business leaders. The group earned its second Rotary International Award for Community Service and passed the mark of $100,000 spent for the area.

Then, just as natural conditions were starting to recover, the Second World War exploded in Europe. Canadia entered the war in September 1939.

The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat supported the military effort. It sent a mobile canteen to a Home Guard unit in Great Britian and kept up a constant flow of contributions (yes, cigarettes and chewing gum) to the Red Cross and other war charities.

The Club saw its younger Rotarians begin to enlist in the military. Leadership and service became the work of the old guard. In fundraising and community spirit-building, the carnival continued despite the fact that the automobile raffle was, by war necessity, discontinued by the government.

In 1941 the Club helped establish the Air Cadet Squadron, assisted with the sales of Victory War Bonds and supported the establishment of the Victorian Order of Nurses in Medicine Hat. When the war finally ended in both Europe and the Pacific in 1945, the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat regrouped to expand its community service.

Many veterans of the Rotary Carnival helped to form the Medicine Hat Stampede and managed the midway and renewed the car lottery. The Stampede was and is a success.

Then came a bloomin’ surprise: A Kelowna Rotarian started sending excess gladiola bulbs, which Medicine Hat club members distributed to shut-ins and hospitals.

Imagine, nearly 3 million blooms gifted to the community! In the Club’s future, during its centennial year, members would repeat area beautification with the planting of 100 trees and a donation of daffodils to the city’s berm project.

Water safety and swimming continued as ongoing youth projects with the addition of two new pools. The Rotary Baseball Tournament began. Contributions were made to Scout and Guide camps. Today those focus-on-youth-and-health activities continue at the Rotary Track and Field, our Rotary bike and walking trails and Project Free Wheel, which offers refurbished bikes and instruction on maintenance to youth and families, many of whom are immigrant.

The year 1950 was a high-profile decade for the Club, showing a $170,000 in community services value by 1956. The Club also took on sponsorship of the Rotary Music Festival, which continues still today and is one of the most recognized and enduring of the Club’s projects.

It is quite possible that more than 40,000 youth have been impacted by this project since its inception.

On another front, before the government began providing medical health services, Rotary members also assisted with dental, medical and eyeglass care for those in need, and contributed $5,000 outside the province to Winnipeg Flood Relief.

More service ahead: In 1963, the Club donated $7,500 for the first language lab at Medicine Hat High School. By 1965, a $4,150 scholarship was established at the college along with a donation of $1,000 to its library, and the Rotary Sundial became a city landmark, much photographed by visitors and residents alike.

In the 1970s, donations and equipment for three wards were made to the hospital; a bus was purchased for the Police Boys Band along with another one for the Kinsmen Training Centre. Where there was a need, Rotary responded.

Times were a’ changing. By 1989, the traditionally all-male Rotary International organization opened to women. Marge Mazerolle and Terry Schneider became Medicine Hat’s pioneer, female members in 1992. Now the Club boasts 46 active members, 15 of whom are female.

You have seen how Rotary’s concept of Service Above Self, its 46,000 clubs and its more than 1.4 million members worldwide have impacted the work of Rotarians in Medicine Hat. In the February column, you’ll see what has happened so far in the 21st century. If you are like-minded and have a passion to serve, join us.

Kitt Brand is a member of the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat. Contact: kittbrand@gmail.com

21
-20