The Rotoscopeof the San Marino, California, Rotary Club

    

EventsNovember 201811/22 -  DARK - Thanksgiving11/29 -  Stefan Schneider, ConsulGeneral of Federal Republic ofGermany

Club LeadersFang Fang Ho President

Gregory F. Johansing President-Elect,ProgramsChair

Denise Wadsworth iPast President,YouthService Chair

Paul Brassard Secretary

Dennis B. Kneier Treasurer

N. Christian Datwyler Webmaster

Kenneth Veronda Bulletin Editor

Lucille F. Norberg Sergeant-at-Arms

Steve Garrett Social Media/BulletinEditor

J. Leland MothersheadIIIClub Director

Calvin Lo Club Director

Fary Yassamy Club Director

Leonard Therrien Club Director,CommunityService Chair

Shawn C. Chou Club Director

    

November 22nd is Thanksgiving – no meeting

November 29, 2018: An Invitation to Visit Germany

STEFAN SCHNEIDER IS THE GERMAN CONSUL GENERAL in Los Angeles, coming totell us how delightful his town of Hamburg will be for the Rotary International convention,and how the friendship between his Federal Republic and ours continues, even with a bit oftemporary stresses. Hamburg has a cold reputation on the chilly Baltic, an old HanseaticLeague all-business trading center, full of business-minded good burghers. It sells good beerand great marzipan chocolates, and for a long time those were the only reasons for visiting thatfar north. Things have changed, as CG Schneider will tell us. Today’s Hamburg is quite theexciting city, with many post-war improvements and attractions worth your coming andenjoying along with the annual gathering of hundreds of global Rotarians.

CONSUL GENERAL SCHNEIDER is diplomatic enough, we’re sure, to be careful about talkon the political stresses in his republic and between our two nations, but we hope and suspect abit of commentary will help us understand what most Germans are thinking about today’sEurope, today’s USA, and today’s tensions.

HERR SCHNEIDER WILL BE the third Consul General meeting with us. The first cameback when his people were still split between Cold War nations, the more recent coming threeyears ago through Georg Eittinger’s good efforts. The first two were delightful speakers withmuch good information to share. We suspect the German foreign ministry sends its best careerpeople to this important Los Angeles consulate, and we thank Georg in advance for a fineprogram ahead.

FOR YOUR YEAR-END GIVING, be sure to remember your pledge of “Every Member,Every Year” support of The Rotary Foundation. A minimum of one hundred dollars fromeach of us makes us a 100% club once again. Of course, Will Bortz and John Jones, who havetaken on the longtime job of John Harris, would warmly welcome your increasing thatpre-inflation $100 to something greater. Please hand your annual donation to either of themat a meeting soon, or drop a check in the mail to the club box, or ask treasurer Dennis to billyour credit card for you. Main thing is to do it!

LIZ AND DENNIS KNEIER were really high a few weeks ago, but without need for drugs toget there. After touring around China, they boarded the technically marvelous new trainheading south – and up, and up – some 17,000 feet up and over the Himalayas sealed in anoxygen-rich super-speed train. Down the other side, they found another high in hiking to thebase camp of Everest, the temples of Tibet, the mysteries of Nepal, touring those exoticdestinations that we oldsters heard about on radio from Lowell Thomas but didn’t think wecould visit by comfortable train travel. Ask our treasurer, and he’ll be high again withexcitement to telling you of their most recent adventures. We hope he may even give us atravelogue program some lunchtime soon.

DISTRICT 5300’S NEWSLETTER this month announces that:

The 2018-19 Presidents' Advance retreat was held this past weekend at the

John Donovan Club Director

Gilda Moshir Club Director,MembershipChair

Rick Andrew Politte Club Director

Aaron Gil Club Director

Lemaud Nash LemaudNashClub Director

Shody Chow International Service Chair

Ginny T. Hsiao Membership Chair

William L. Payne Public Image Chair

William H. Bortz Rotary Foundation Chair

Linda Susan Wah Vocational Service Chair

The 2018-19 Presidents' Advance retreat was held this past weekend at thehistoric Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino near Boulder City, Nevada, with over 60District Leaders in attendance.

What makes this worth a smile is the name of the annual mid-year meeting for currentpresidents to review their accomplishments and discuss what more needs to be done in theirterm. It’s a retreat. Most every organization holds them, getting leadership away to a pleasantoffsite and spend a weekend or a few days in review. But years ago when San MarinoRotarian John Clay was governor of what was then district 530, John proclaimed that“Rotarians never retreat! – we’re always ADVANCING! – this is the President’s ADVANCE!” So I’ve gotta smile at this “Advance Retreat”.

THE DISTRICT NEWSLETTER carried a proud announcement from Pasadena Rotaryabout their project to gift one hundred new bicycles another Christmas to one hundredPasadena-area children identified by the Salvation Army’s workers as being in need. Greatproject – which is why our club and Altadena Rotary have joined Pasadena for the third year,and why Aaron Gil turned out with a fine group of San Marino Santa-Helpers to assemble theknocked-down bikes two Saturday mornings ago. Thanks to Aaron and our club’s little elveswho pitched in to make assembly a quick and happy morning’s work.

OUR NEXT ONE-SATURDAY CORAZON house-building seems distant, but May 18thwill be here much too soon. See J.P. Mainguy if you’re not signed up and will come help.

THE BIKES SIT AT the Pasadena school district’s corp yard on Woodbury near theArroyo-Windsor exit on the 210. Aaron and his helpers next chore comes December 10th,from noon to about four p.m., loading the bikes on trucks to carry them from the corp yard tothe Salvation Army parking area on Mentor just below Walnut. Then early Saturday morning,December 13th, the recipient kids and their families come to be fitted to the right bike and asafety helmet donated through Huntington Hospital’s community program. The families arescheduled to come at specific times from 7:00 a.m. to noon. The fun part is seeing the smilesand feeling the joy of a new bike for the holidays.

WE’RE NOT SURE IF AARON has enough helpers signed up for the 10th and the 13th, butif you’re not on his list and are willing to join the fun project, see him at our meeting on the29th, email him at agil73@gmail.com, or call him at 626-688-6047. Even if you can’t help,tell him thanks for leading this great club project.

A LAWYER FROM UPLAND has been chosen as the district governor for 2021-2022. Elizabeth “Betsy” McDonough Barry and her husband/law partner Roy have been members ofthe Rotary Club of Upland since 2005, where Roy will be president next year. For a three yeartour, Betsy is serving as the district’s membership chair. Before becoming a Rotarian, Betsyserved seven years on the Upland city council. She has also served as president of theWestern San Bernardino County Bar Association. You will be hearing from Betsy at theDistrict Conference in May.

ANOTHER DATE FOR YOUR 2019 CALENDAR is the weekend of May 3 and 4, theDistrict Conference in Anaheim. The district’s announcement gave a deadline for housing andregistration already past, but now the district’s web page gives you another chance. Come andfeel proud of all the service rendered by our club and others around the district.

JOHN McDONALD joined our club on December 1946, before most of our current memberswere born, let alone were Rotarians. John and Marcia retired to Corona del Mar a number ofyears ago and John was recognized as an Honorary Member at that time. He visitedoccasionally thereafter, but has not attended a meeting in some time. We learned last weekthat John had passed away, but there were no further details about his death, survivors, orservices. If anyone has recent information about the tall, taciturn Scot, please let me know. John turned his hobby of photography into McDonald’s Camera Shop along the Drive, justbelow where Jann’s is today. a good business, and gathering place, until photo technology’sadvance to digital has closed most.

JOHN McDONALD WAS BORN September 8th, 1918, as the Great War was ending. So ifhe died in the past six weeks he had made it to his centennial year, pretty impressive. We’vebeen unable to learn if Marcia is still alive, or if they have continued to live at the 107 Bayside

been unable to learn if Marcia is still alive, or if they have continued to live at the 107 BaysidePlace address that’s theirs on our club files.

JOHN HAD BEEN A STOCK BROKER with Dean Witter’s branch in San Marino. He wassponsored in our club by Larry Shepard when Ron Witter was moving into the club’sleadership and Rotary met at Pierre’s, the elegant dining house across from City Hall. Johnwas president of our club in 1957-1958, just as Pierre’s lit its last crepes suzette when SanMarino went dry, and Rotary moved east to Woody and Eddie’s, just outside the city limitswhere lunchtime martinis could still be had and where Trader Joe’s is today. John wrote thehistory of his presidential year in his typically laconic style, worth your opening and learningmore of what the thirty or so San Marino Rotarians were enjoying in the newly postwarAmerica. Here’s a link to his page. Take a look:

                         https://sanmarinorotary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/195758McDonald.pdf

 

November 22: No Rotary – Thanksgiving Day

November 29: A Diplomatic Welcome to Hamburg

and all Germany

December 6: Hollywood Stuntman

plus our TLC Returnees

December 13: The Horror of Human Trafficking

and some hopes for its control