President Frank Perez opened the virtual meeting of the Centerville Rotary Club and welcomed everyone including new members Carol Galloway and Ginger Clark. Frank Perez led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Ray Merz led us in prayer today with a special remembrance of John Callander, a Rotary member for over 20 years, who passed away this week. Several members shared memories of John.

 

 

Carol Kennard noted John was one of the people who led the charge getting our Pancake breakfast started along with Jack Workman and Fred Weir, who are also no longer with us. They were the backbone of our fundraiser and are all missed. She was wearing a Rotary necklace John gave her that had belonged to his late wife and said she will always treasure his thoughtfulness.

Ray Merz noted when he joined the club, John was our International Director, and soon talked Ray into taking over those duties.

Dale Berry noted John was not new to Rotary when he came to our club - He was in the West Carrollton Club first, but when he retired, Dale asked him to join the Centerville Club and was his sponsor.

Ron Hollenbeck said he has many very fond memories of John. He was quick to volunteer for community activities, and shared a story of when we participated in the Rebuilding Together Dayton. John, Jack, Fred, and Ron had the job of painting the exterior of house. Someone had to climb ladder to get to second floor so Ron, being the youngest in the group started up the ladder.  He looked over and saw John was on the roof as well, when he really shouldn’t have been!

 

 

Sofia Quinones from Interact shared that the club is celebrating the accomplishments of all women on March 8, which is International Women’s day. They are encouraging everyone to wear pearls on March 8 to show that all women matter. Looking for donations to purchase necklaces to sell at school and any money raised will go to the Artemis Center. Rebecca will coordinate collection of funds from the club. She can pick up at your house or you can drop it off at Pat Beckel’s office at 11 Virginia Ave. (opens at 9) or drop off at Rebecca’s at 1669 Gatekeeper Way (Yankee Trace).

 

Frank gave an update on the Rotary Golf Outing

Frank shared our website and how to navigate through the Golf website:

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Hollenbeck received the reports on installation of water pumps in Haiti. He is putting an article together for the district newsletter. The global grant for Malawi is nearly done - gathering the last info needed for Rotary International.

 

 

Boyd Preston was our Sergeant at Arms this week.

 

Boyd Preston gave $20 IMO John Callander - someone who was very welcoming, first to volunteer, and we will miss him. Also gave a welcome to the new members

Ray Merz gave $20  as his wife is getting her second COVID vaccine and then they are headed to Naples for 6 weeks. He appreciated John Callander and his willing spirit.

Pat Beckel gave $20 IMO John and to welcome new members. He knows Ginger will be a fabulous addition to the club and he is just a about ready to announce a new business venture.

Harvey Smith gave $20 IMO John, who was a very good friend.

Chuck King gave $20 IMO John and that spring is just around the corner as he got his first pollen count email

Judy Budi gave $20 for the new members, and to honor John Callander. He was just a great guy

Dick Hoback gave $20 IMO John Callander

Arnie Biondo gave $10 in honor of John and said he was such a nice guy

Jim Harris gave $10 in honor of John - he always enjoyed talking with him.

Carol Kennard gave $20 in honor of John and the new members.

Elda Gotos-Gay gave $20 for being happy

Ron Hollenbeck gave $30 to welcome new members, in honor of John who was such a joy to be around, and his wife made an appointment to get head examined - got his eyes checked and all is ok ;-)

Rebecca Quiñones gave $10 IMO John, for the nice weather and getting to see her friend Sofie Ameloot.

Sofie Ameloot gave $10 IMO John and to welcome the new members. She mentioned the last time she worked with John was at the Park Headquarters where a pancake sign fell on John’s leg and he got hurt.

Don Overly gave $20 for witnessing the best basketball game between Ohio State and Michigan, even though OSU didn’t win, it was a fantastic game

Frank Perez gave $20 IMO John and for the new members

 

 

 

Cheryl noted she was teacher at Driscoll and thanked us for the Dictionary donation. She said it was a wonderful resource that teachers and kids used all the time.

 

Cheryl noted the success of Centerville-Washington History comes from a group of dedicated individuals who are passionate about history. She shared their mission statement:

 

 

Centerville is located in the northwest territory in what was known as the Symmes purchase, located between the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers. Founders included Aaron Nutt, Benjamin Archer & Benjamin Robbins who traveled here to settle because of the rich resources (water, trees, animals) which made it a desirable place to live. They selected lots in the center of town, as that was the high point of the area.

 

 

They soon started using local limestone - soft enough to chisel/hammer into blocks, but hard enough to stack. Several historic stone buildings are still here today.

 

Founding of Centerville-Washington History was the result of caring people who love local history. They started by meeting in living rooms, discussed the past, and saved artifacts from early families in their basements. In 1966, the group went before City Council and Lois Zizert declared she would donate her house (Aaron Nutt Cottage) upon her death if the society was formed. Centerville-Washington Township Historical Society was formed in 1967.

 

 

In 1968 they stared working on preserving stone buildings, but weren’t able to save them all. In 1968 the Stage Coach Inn was purchased by Shell for a gas station. They tried to save it but unsuccessful. Landmarks Foundation was then started to save historic houses.

 

 

In 1971 the Walton House was donated to CW History by Walton heirs and the society finally had a place to store artifacts/records.

 

In 1978 they acquired the Asahel Wright House and the museum was established in 1999. In 2002 Lois Zizert passed, so her house was donated to the Society and the  Aaron Nutt Research Center opened.

 

 

Three organizations that help preserve our history include:

Landmarks

Bd of arch review

CWHistory

 

Architectural Preservation District established in the center of town to protect the early buildings.

 

2020 brought about many changes due to COVID-19 and they approached it as an opportunity to rethink, reshape, and redesign programs in new ways.

 

Several ongoing programs include:

Walk among the tombstones - self-guided tour

Peek into History - open up curtains at the school museum in front of Asahel Wright  - peek into windows to see the displays

Hunting for History - tour of historic uptown Centerville; self-guided

 

Reshaping - On the Road Chats, Monthly Speaker Series - can’t collect as a group, so doing by Zoom now. Miami Valley Communications Council (MVCC) taped the monthly speaker series which is now shown on Cable channel and YouTube/Facebook.

 

 

All fundraisers were cancelled in 2020, but they hope to bring them back in 2021. A Sense of Taste is planned for September 9, 5-8 pm, with a new look but still working out the details to make safe for the public.

 

Stepping Through Time - walking tour of historic sites.

School Tours - were taped by MVCC and sent to schools for virtual tour.

History on the Go - modules per grade level, was also done as a virtual program  video instead.

 

 

Their principle source of funding is from the Township and City and they are very grateful for their support. They also receive funding through programs and grants:

 

Volunteers make a difference, love and passion for seekers of history and Cheryl and her staff remain focused on the mission of connecting the community to the history of our local area.

 

Centerville uptown project - doesn’t affect historical buildings, many are protected throughout AP district.

 

Cheryl hopes to be able to offer kids programs this summer.

They also have books for purchase at the Walton House. Their plan is to open up the buildings on April 6 by appointment only.

 

 

Dale Berry encouraged all Rotarians to join Centerville-Washington History.

 

President Frank thanked Cheryl for the interesting history of our community and led the group in the 4-Way Test. 

 

Next week's speaker will be Sheriff Rob Streck.