Origin of Washington Kiwanis

The Origins of Kiwanis Club in Washington

What follows is a 1924 article from the Tazewell County Reporter detailing the beginnings of the Kiwanis Club in Washington, a club that still exists to this day.

KIWANIS CLUB IS ORGANIZED HERE TONIGHT

A Kiwanis Club with the required membership of thirty-five will be organized here tonight by the Pekin and Peoria Kiwanis Clubs.  A dinner will be served at the Woodman hall, where the club expects to hold its regular weekly meetings, after which officers will be adopted and a program rendered.

Washington takes its place in rank with Peoria, Bloomington, Canton, Chillicothe, Elmwood, and Henry in this locality by the organization of this service club, better known as luncheon club.

The Optimist Club of Peoria had made the organization of an Optimist Club in Washington one of its main projects for the autumn.  The Mileage Clubs of America had a representative in this city recently, with the idea of organizing a unit of organization.  Attorney Prettyman of Pekin, an ardent Kiwanian, was in Washington some weeks ago on business.  Upon investigating he found that Washington had no such club, and when he learned of the activities of other organization, he wired the Chicago office of Kiwanis from here and they sent an organizer here immediately.  He went to work and by Friday of last week he had the required charter list.

The purpose of Kiwanis is not to function in a commercial way, but is rather social and educational in its purpose.  It provides a place where its members get together weekly around a table, where eating is incidental to getting acquainted.  The Kiwanis slogan is “We build.”  It attempts to build a better feeling between city and country.  Its prime project is to help the under-privileged child.

The membership is limited to two of a classification.  Only two bankers, or two preachers, or two doctors may belong, and a hopeful prospect is not (automatically accepted) when his classification is not filled.  Because of this many other clubs, such as Rotary, Optimist, Lions, Mileage, and others are organized in cities.

A program of song, play, and fun is usually arranged for each meeting, but always there is the sober part which is provided by lectures and addresses.  It has been found that when men can play together they can work together.  The educational feature provided by addresses is the outstanding advantage of the club.

The charter will be presented by the National Organization in the near future, and it is expected that four or five hundred Kiwanians from central Illinois will be in town for the occasion.

The charter membership is composed of the following men: Vernon I. Strubhar, Guy A. Wright, F.G. Miller, F.L. Blumenshine, J.E. Harris, W.O. Decker, Martin Conrad, F.E. Muller, O.P. Bennett, W. E. Petri, William A. Pfeiffer Jr., Roy T. McClung, C.M. Dunnington, A.G. Danforth, Otto C. Renfer, Frank W. Hops, Leonard G. Renfer, D.S. Birkett, E.A. Morrow, Paul W. Busse, W.A. Mansfield, H.E. Andrews, Sam Crabtree, H.A. Kingsbury, Paul R. Goddard, E.E. Habecker, Edgar J. Elliot, Willard Sweitzer, F.W. Steimle, Harold Heiple, H.A. Zinser, R.R. Kimmell, George Rinkenberger, and Captain Sweitzer.