Rotary Gimlet for September 14, 2017 (Sep 08, 2017)

A “packed house” of Rotarians in the Lyric Conference Center welcomed President Tricia Bunten as she began the meeting by introducing new member Bob Kase as our pianist; he accompanied us in a heart-felt singing of our Star Spangled Banner. Invocator Jeff Iisakka followed with an inspiring invocation, citing one of Rotary’s key “areas of focus,” promoting peace, a timely reminder given today’s presentation on World War I.

Jena Evans and guest Jordanne Even, CSS Admissions, a native of Detriot Lakes, in front of DLs Rotary banner

Fellowship Reporter Gary Bubalo, never to miss an opportunity, commented that Neale Roth’s post-Labor Day summer attire of pink Bermuda shorts and a pull-over did not quite fit, implying a darker shade of Bermudas might be more appropriate. Jim Monge provided a check to the RI Foundation in honor of his and Mary Ann’s 45^th wedding anniversary on July 1. Tom and Sheryl Homan each paid fines in recognition of their second grandchild’s arrival, a boy, in San Francisco. Geiger Yount urged fellow Rotarians to note the passing of dermatologist Sheralyn Zlonis, spouse of former Rotarian Mike. Her obit was in Wednesday’s DNT. And finally, everyone associated with UMD paid a fine in honor of the Medical School’s recent $10 million anonymous donation. Congratulations all UMDers. Rose Sale chair Matt Rosendahl, anxious to see if any team can eclipse Allen Anway’s (currently leading the pack), said that he had a tip for “growing roses,” and a threat. The tip is to get your tickets and sales dollars in each Wednesday by noon to boost your team’s chances at winning the team competition prize, the UMD Women’s Hockey Suite for one game. The threat is that if the numbers aren’t significantly better, Past President Dave McLean will be delivering the report next week. Also, if you have extra “I Sell Rotary Roses” buttons in your desk or at home in your top drawer, please bring to the Rotary office as more are needed.

Dan Dock and City of Duluth’s Paula Reed are spearheading the YES jobs initiative

Dan Dock introduced Paula Reed from the City of Duluth and its Youth Employment Services (YES) program. Funded by state and federal dollars, YES works with young people ages 18-24 who have barriers to traditional types of jobs. And these jobs are desperately needed. Rotary is assisting in the process; we will be hearing more next week on what we can do as individuals and as potential employers.

President Tricia noted that there are several volunteer opportunities coming up, including the Second Harvest back pack program (contact Jim Schwartz) and the In-line Marathon (contact Skeeter Moore). She then invited all ten September birthday celebrants to step forward as we serenaded them, recognizing a total of 258 years of service. Congratulations!

Mike Orman and Fred Friedman

Past President Mike Orman, former veterinarian and current attorney, introduced today’s speaker, Fred Friedman. Many know Fred by his many roles: public defender, university professor, public radio commentator, baseball aficionado, accomplished presenter in the courtroom and in life. Today’s presentation: World War I, a fascinating topic most Americans don’t know much about. This is the 100^th anniversary of America’s involvement in “the war to end all wars.” Simply put, it was a war between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey on one side vs. Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France, Russia, and later, the US, on the other. These warring factions were killing each other within two weeks of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand primarily because of alliances based on, “if you go to war, we will go with you.” Ironically, the individual leaders of all of the warring European parties were related to one another through Britain’s Queen Victoria; “first cousins” as Fred noted. It was 20^th century weapons (submarines, machine guns, tanks, airplanes, barbed wire, mustard gas) combined with 19^th century tactics (Wellington, Napoleon) where military leaders ordered their soldiers to simply charge enemy trenches. The result? Millions were killed needlessly. Which is why US President Woodrow Wilson’s re-election campaign slogan was “I Kept You Out of War.” Sadly, he was tricked into joining the Allies due to the Sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmerman Note from Germany to Mexico promising a return of all of the southwest US states if Germany won the war. And while US involvement was minimal, just 8-9 months, the long-term effects of “the Great War” were substantial. For example, Congress did not approve the League of Nations. The Treaty of Versailles was extremely harsh on Germany, leading to the rise of Nazism and nationalism there. Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution ousted the Tsarist regime and led to Communism and the Cold War. And closer to home, our soldiers came home with the flu, leading to the famous Flu Epidemic of 1918. The 1920’s were Roaring, indeed, as Americans were borrowing money to invest in the Stock Market only to see it crash and lead into The Great Depression, Prohibition and an ill-prepared US military facing the rise of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in World War II. Race riots also became more common in the US due to prejudice, unemployment and poverty.

Fred concluded by telling two personal stories, the impact of RI’s scholarship program on his family, and his meeting Pittsburgh researcher Jonas Salk, MD who created the Salk Vaccine, solving the mystery of polio and saving millions of lives. Rotarians were mesmerized by Fred’s presentation, and he could have spoken to us for a much longer period of time. The program committee’s selection of Fred Friedman was a prudent decision. We look forward to inviting him to address our club once again.