Bath Rotary - Bath Rotary Club History

Rotary came to Bath sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lewiston/Auburn, Maine. It was organized on May 2, 1918 and admitted on March 1, 1919 with charter numbers 447. Under the presidency of T. Langdon Snipe, a physician in general practice in Bath, the club met first in the Knights of Pythias Hall at the YMCA, then in rooms at the Odd Fellows Hall. After presentation of the charter, the club held its meeting at King Tavern from 1919 to 1926 when the tavern was demolished to make way for the Carlton Bridge. From 1973 until 2003 the club met at the New Meadows Inn in West Bath. Currently meetings are held each Tuesday at 12:00 at the Holiday Inn, just off U.S. Rt. 1 in Bath.

The Bath Rotary Club has been providing service to the Bath area for ninety years; providing financial and physical support to a variety of programs and causes whose aim is to make life better for people not only in the local community, but nationally and internationally as well. Over the years our contributions have included donations to:

The Rotary Foundation Scholarships to Morse High School graduates

Bath Children’s Home Bath Food Bank,

Girls’ and Boys’ State Bath Little League

Babe Ruth League Bath Forestry project

Bath YMCA (van purchase) Samantha Smith Foundation

Coastal Humane Society Camp Davenport

Hurricane Katrina Relief Project,Defibrillators for the Bath Fire Department

City of Bath Nightscaping Dominican Republic Clean Water Project

Intercultural Nursing Program United Way of Midcoast Maine

Rotary Youth Exchange Flying Changes Therapeutic Riding Center

Midcoast Leadership Institute Salvation Army

In 1973 the club created a Charitable Trust to introduce a project in conjunction with the Bath Regional Vocational Center. Financed at first with a mortgage backed by the Rotary Club Trust, the school began by building homes on land donated by the City. After completion of each home, it was sold at a fair market price and the mortgage repaid – with remaining revenues used for school equipment, toolships and scholarships. Over the next 25 years, millions of dollars worth of private homes were constructed and added to the city’s tax base.

The program evolved through the years and the Bath Rotary Charitable Trust now supports the construction program by providing materials and tools for the construction of single family modular dwellings which are built by the students under the supervision of the vocational school instructors. The sale of the modular home provides the seed money for the following year’s construction project. The skills acquired during each year’s project enable the students to become skilled and proficient in construction-thereby able to enter the workforce on a more competitive basis.

Rotary International’s Council on Legislation in 1986 considered again the admission of women into our membership. Twenty-six (26) clubs worldwide had proposed this change – including the Rotary Club of Bath, Maine. The Bath Club expanded its membership to include women, beginning in 1987. The membership rolls have included the names of women active in business and professions in the Bath area. Their inclusion has strengthened the club and made it much more representative of the diversity to be found in Bath. Jean Morris, then a bank manager, became the first female member of the club with several others joining quickly thereafter.

Through our support of the Rotary Foundation, the Bath club has become involved in the excellent world-wide work of that organization. In recent years the club has regularly contributed between $4,000 and $6,000 each year to the foundation.

Through Group Study exchange programs and our Youth Exchange program, we have shared our life in Bath with people from South America, the Ukraine, India, the Philippines, and Australia, to name a few. Our Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) sends two high school sophomores to a leadership training program each June. We have shared books, tools and finances with schools and communities devastated by natural disasters.

We have had two District Governors from the Bath Rotary Club. Dominic Tardif served in 1976-77 and Joseph Hahn in 1986-87. Through the Rotary Foundation we have contributed thousands of dollars for Polio Plus, Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio worldwide: and have named numerous Paul Harris Fellows.

And in all we have been an active club locally, nationally and internationally. We have set the stage with a successful 90 years and are positioned to launch out service and involvement in our community for the future. There are many challenges to face and many avenues of service to explore.

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US ON THE JOURNEY
AS A MEMBER OF THE BATH ROTARY CLUB

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