Rotary Club of Reading, Pennsylvania

Club History

• Reading Rotary Club
• History of Reading Rotary Club
  • The Beginning
  • Our First Rotarians
  • Club Presidents
  • Paul Harris Fellows
  • Joseph A. Abey
  • William W.Keck
  • District Governors
  • Hen Johnston
• Rotary International

The Beginning

Chartered on December 1, 1913

88th Rotary Club to be Chartered

"The idea of a group of business men, in businesses not allied to each other, banding together to become better friends, to exchange business ideas, and to help their communities, was first brought to fruition by the formation of a Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905 by Paul P. Harris. The inherent need for such an organization among businessmen and its place in their communities became very apparent when similar clubs began to be organized in many other cities. The first Rotary Club organized in Pennsylvania was that of Philadelphia on November 30, 1910, Charter #19. Soon after that Pittsburgh and then Harrisburg were organized.

"Business men in Reading, particularly William W. Keck, a partner in Croll and Keck, Clothiers, Bernard R. Knisely and Otis H. Bennett had received news of this new organization from friends of theirs in Harrisburg and Scranton. After several informal get-togethers in Croll and Keck store in the summer of 1913, a meeting was called in the Mineral Spring Hotel on September 13, 1913, which was attended by 52 businessmen of Reading and vicinity. This meeting was presided over by the late Judge W. Wagner, who introduced the guests, among whom were representatives of the Harrisburg Club, particularly John S. Musser, President of the Harrisburg Club. The most important representative of Rotary at this meeting was Glenn C. Meade of Philadelphia who had been president of the National Rotary group for the year 1912-1913. His story and appeal, plus those of the Harrisburg and Scranton men, were immediately fruitful and the group presented and elected the following officers:

• President -- William W. Keck
• Vice President -- Joseph W. Essick
• Secretary -- Dwight J. McCann
• Treasurer -- J. P. Hennesy
• Sergeant-at-arms -- John Hartman

The Board of Directors included E. L. Hettinger, Theodore C. Auman, Reverend John Hackenberg, A. D. Nelson and the above officers.

"This group of officers of the new organization went to work to line up men to actually become members of the Rotary Club of Reading when organized; and were successful in securing 31 pledged members who were the following:

"This group petitioned for charter in the International Association of Rotary Clubs, as the organization was then known, and pending permission to form a club officially, engaged also in securing additional members. The court as of October 1, 1914 approved the incorporation of the Rotary Club of Reading, PA, and the Club was granted Charter #88. At the time of the formal incorporation, there were 95 members of the Club."

From this early beginning, the Rotary Club of Reading has grown and prospered. In the process it has contributed much to the fabric of our community.

Our First Rotarians

OTIS H. BENNETT - Typewriters and Billing Machines
Manager, Underwood Typewriter Company, 20 South Fourth Street.
Residence: 422 South Twentieth Street, Mt. Penn, Pa.

JOSEPH W. ESSICK - Insurance Auto and Casualty
Partner, Essick & Barr, 539 Court Street.
Residence: Howard Street, Springmont, Pa.

CHARLES J. ESTERLY - Ladies' Full-Fashioned Hosiery
Berkshire Knitting Mills, Wyomissing, Pa.
Residence: 904 Penn Avenue, Wyomissing, Pa.

WILLIAM I. GOLDMAN - Photographer
Proprietor, Goldman's Studio, 230 North Sixth Street.
Residence: 230 North Sixth Street.

JOHN HARTMANN, JR. - Meats-Wholesale
Manager, Swift & Company, 608 North Eighth Street.
Residence: 1639 Perkiomen Avenue.

EDWIN L. HETTINGER - Optician-Manufacturing
Assistant Secretary and purchasing Agent, T. A. Willson Company, Inc., Second & Washington Streets.
Residence: 1325 Mineral Spring Road.

WILLIAM W. KECK - Clothing
Partner, Croll & Keck, 418 Penn Street.
Residence: Penn Ave., Wyomissing, Pa.

BERNARD R. KNISELY - Adding Machines
Sales Manager, Burroughs Adding Machine Company, 310-312 Berks County Trust Building.
Residence: 101 Windsor Street.

DWIGHT G. McCANN - Business College
Treasurer, McCann's School, Berks County Trust Building
Residence: 17 South Eleventh Street.

ALBERT D. NELSON - Pianos
Manager, F. A. North Company, 15 North Fifth Street.
Residence: Fairview Avenue, Wyomissing, Pa.

MAURICE E. ROEDER - Transfer
Proprietor, Roeder's Transfer Company, 25 North Sixth Street.
Residence: 104 North Eleventh Street.

J. MILO WEBSTER - Optician-Wholesale
President, Reading Optical Company Inc., 315 N. Fourth Street.
Residence: 315 N. Fourth Street.

Reading Rotary Club Presidents

Meetings: Each Thursday at 12:05 PM at the Reading YMCA at 6th & Washington Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania

Reading Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellows 

Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary, was born in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, on April 19, 1868, but moved at the age of 3 to Wallingford, Vermont, to be raised by his grandparents. In the forward to his autobiography, My Road to Rotary, he credits the friendliness and tolerance he found in Vermont as his inspiration for the creation of Rotary.

Remaining true to his five-year plan, he settled in Chicago in 1896, and it was there on the evening of February 23, 1905, that he met with three friends to discuss his idea for a businessmen's club. This is commonly regarded as the first Rotary club meeting. Over the next five years, the movement spread as Rotary clubs were formed in other U.S. cities. When the National Association of Rotary Clubs held its first convention in 1910, Paul was elected president. After his term, and as the organization's only president-emeritus, Paul continued to travel extensively, promoting the spread of Rotary both in the USA and abroad. A prolific writer, Paul wrote several books about the early days of the organization and the role he was privileged to play in it. He died in Chicago on January 27, 1947.

Undoubtedly the most important step to promote voluntary giving to The Rotary Foundation occurred in 1957, when the idea of Paul Harris Fellow recognition was first proposed. Although the concept of making $1,000 gifts to the Foundation was slow in developing, by the early 1 970s it began to gain popularity. The distinctive Paul Harris Fellow medallion, lapel pin and attractive certificate have become highly respected symbols of a substantial financial commitment to The Rotary Foundation by Rotarians and friends around the world.

Meetings: Each Thursday at 12:05 PM at the Reading YMCA at 6th & Washington Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania

Joseph A. Abey

• President of Rotary Club of Reading - 1942-1943
• District Governor of District 179 - 1948-1949
• President of Rotary International - 1961-1962

No record of the club would be complete without some discussion of perhaps our most honored member, Joseph A. Abey. Of the some 21,000 clubs in Rotary International, approximately 80 can claim the honor as home club of the International President, a claim that the Reading club carries with pride.

Joe was elected to the Reading Club on 21 April 1936 and was loaned the classification of Newspaper Publisher. He served as president of the club in 1942-1943, as District Governor in 1948-1949, as Rotary International Director from Zone 5 in 1954-1956, and as President of Rotary International in 1961-1962. Along the way he chaired nearly every club committee, and actively promoted Rotary throughout the region and the world.

On June 21, 1961, Joe's birthday, the club hosted a dinner for he and his wife Eula at the Albright College Field House to which 1100 guests responded. This meeting served as the introductory event of his year as President and saw the introduction of his theme for the year, ACT -- Aim for Action, Communicate for Understanding, Test for leadership -- a theme which was to serve as the focus for his 125,000 miles of worldwide travel on behalf of Rotary for the next several years. During his travels, Joe visited Rotary clubs in 35 states and 90 foreign countries.

Members will remember the club assemblies at his home during which Joe served his famous Chili Con Carne to all assembled, his visits to the club meetings whenever he was in town during those busy years, the efforts of the club to keep records of his years of service, and his continuing support of the Rotary Ideal of service above self.

In addition to his service to the Reading Rotary, Joe was an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church, a member of the Boards of the Hawk Mountain Council, the Salvation Army, and the Chamber of Commerce. Joe’s honors include membership in the Newspaperboys Hall of Fame, honorary doctorates from four colleges, including one from Albright College, and a citation from the Pennsylvania State Senate.

When, on March 12, 1972, he passed away, both the Reading club and Rotary International lost a true exemplar of the Ideal of Rotary.

District Governors

• Joe Abey - 1948-1949
• John Coon - 1971-1972

Two members of the Reading club have served as District Governor of Rotary International, Joe Abey in 1948-1949, and John Coon in 1971-1972. The club has honored four other members by nominating them for this position.

William W. Keck

First President of the Rotary Club of Reading

Mention should be made of the man who probably was most influential in bringing Rotary to Reading in 1913. William W. Keck, the first President of our club, brought the Rotary idea to Reading from Harrisburg where there had been a Rotary Club since 1911. Bill was one of the original partners in the firm of Croll and Keck, clothiers, a man of high ideals, and a great influence in Reading in bringing business men together for the betterment of the community. His business slogan was "Always Reliable," foreshadowing by some years the ethical standards now subscribed to by Rotary under its vocational service avenue. Bill Keck also organized the Merchants’ Bureau and the Automobile Club of which he was president for many years

Henry R. Johnston

Last Surviving Charter Member

The connection of the present club with those persons who founded it was severed in January of 1983 with the death of Hen Johnston, our last surviving charter member. Hen joined the Reading club on 1 December 1913, and passed away on 22 January 1983 following some 69 years of involvement with Reading Rotary. The club honored him in 1974 when he was elected an honorary member, a classification which was renewed each subsequent year.