The location of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary Centennial Celebration has been determined–actually, there will be two of them, one for the founding itself in 1926, and one in celebration of the group’s commitment to community service. One will be taking place with invited guests at Garrett’s Mill downtown and one will be later in the year at the South Street (Bill Phelps) Village Park in conjunction with the establishment of a Storybook Trail along the Tom Collins Memorial Walking Trail implemented by the Garrettsville branch of the Portage County Library District. Individual posts for the chapters of the stories are being ordered and individuals, groups or businesses which would like to be sponsors of any of the posts should contact a current Rotary member. Planning continues.
Jim Irwin, longest-standing member of the G-HR, gave a presentation which could have gone on and on but was briefed-down to a snapshot of the club history, beginning in 1926 ( Thanks to extensive research by Pam Montgomery).The Kent club sponsored the organization of a Rotary Club in “small Garrettsville” and the official charter was presented to considerable fanfare in June of 1926. Pictures from the local paper–The Garrettsville Journal–showed community leaders through the years, their relationships and sometimes, their hard times, such as the dues reductions during the Great Depression.. Fascinating information and stories, likely to be expanded upon during this year’s Centennial Celebration coming up on June 11, 2026.
It’s all good.
