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Don't forget your past
"I was the most important member," said the founder of Rolling Green and Lindenwood golf courses.
He paused.
"You ask why? It's very simple. It took 25 members to get a charter, and I was the 25th member."
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Since then, the club has doubled in size and recently has been two-time District 7330 Club of the Year. Its members have raised thousands of dollars annually to give back to the community in the form of scholarships, charitable donations and international relief efforts.
As this year's club president, Don Angel, said, "You never forget where you came from." So he invited longtime McMurray Rotarians to talk about the club's origins, to enlighten members - I've been one for 13 years - about how their organization came to be.
Actually, the most esteemed Western Pennsylvania Rotarian of them all took the initiative in starting a club in Peters Township.
Attorney Charles Keller, who eventually served as president of the 1.2 million-member Rotary International, had talked often with law associate Ralph Peacock about the feasibility of a club in the growing community. Finally, when Keller was elected district governor in 1963, the time seemed to be right.
The following year, with help from members of the longstanding Washington club, he conducted a survey of Peters businesses.
"It was obvious that there was plenty of room here for a club that would grow and prosper," he told current club members. The key was to find people who were "givers, concerned about their community."
Three of the charter group - Wylie, retired dry-cleaner owner Paul Owens and real estate developer Bill Holt - are members to this day, as is insurance agent Bill Gullborg, who joined in 1969.
Owens shared his particularly strong feelings for the "big, happy family" he found in Rotary. When he became seriously ill in the early 1970s, "You cannot imagine the support I got from the members of the club."
He credited a particular member, the late Dr. Mark Berkley Sr., with saving his life by recommending specialists who eventually helped Owens become a longtime cancer survivor.
Keller, a member of the California Rotary Club who has been active in the organization for six decades, expressed his sentiments about McMurray's success.
"I've had a chance to watch the development of this club, and it's really one of the happiest experiences of my career. You have a right to be very proud of what this club does."
Yes, Chuck. We are.
Online editor Harry Funk can be reached at hfunk@observer-reporter.com.
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