The Alva Rotary Club was chartered Thursday, April 26, 1923. The meeting was held in “Rotary Hall” with sixteen charter members, their wives and guests present. They were treated to a meal of cold pressed chicken and all the trimmings. Dessert was strawberry fruit cream and cake. The Enid Rotary Club sponsored the Alva club; consequently, many of the Enid Rotarians were present at this gala affair. District Governor, Bert Faulconer, presented the charter.
The charter members of the Alva club were the “movers and shakers” of the community in their day. Their names are found among those who had worked toward the establishment of
Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the Masonic Lodge, the Bell Hotel and many of local churches. The most famous charter member is undoubtedly John B. Doolin, an attorney, game warden who managed the successful campaigns of two Oklahoma governors: Haskell and Cruce. Doolin was sent three times to the Democratic National Convention, served as treasurer of the National Democratic Committee, and was director in two Federal Reserve Banks concurrently. His funeral was held in Herod Hall on the campus of NWOSU and was attended by Leon Phillips (Governor of Oklahoma) and Walter Harrison (Editor of the Daily Oklahoman).
Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the Masonic Lodge, the Bell Hotel and many of local churches. The most famous charter member is undoubtedly John B. Doolin, an attorney, game warden who managed the successful campaigns of two Oklahoma governors: Haskell and Cruce. Doolin was sent three times to the Democratic National Convention, served as treasurer of the National Democratic Committee, and was director in two Federal Reserve Banks concurrently. His funeral was held in Herod Hall on the campus of NWOSU and was attended by Leon Phillips (Governor of Oklahoma) and Walter Harrison (Editor of the Daily Oklahoman).
The club worked at various projects as recommended by Rotary International during its first 25 years and grew to a membership of approximately 70 by the late 1940s. The years following World War II were prosperous and exciting years for most individuals and for the cities and towns where they lived. This wave of prosperity and enthusiasm lasted well into the 1970s.
Local club activities included a Crippled Children’s Clinic. Doctors, primarily from the McBride Bone and Joint Hospital of Oklahoma City, would come to Alva for the day to provide free diagnostic examinations on children in need. The Clinic was held on Monday, a regular Rotary meeting day, and the visiting doctors were treated to a duck dinner by the Rotarians. A part of the pleasure of this occasion was the hunting of the ducks that were used to feed the guests. Colonel Bob Kirkbride, a local auctioneer, was a driving influence behind this program.
Before the Alva Youth Council was formed, the Rotary Club sponsored numerous youth activities, mostly in the area of swimming. Alva boasted the largest public swimming pool in the state, constructed by the WPA in 1939. Dr. T.J. Benjegerdes, a Rotarian, built a picnic shelter in Hatfield Park (adjacent to the pool) on behalf of Rotary. Many years later and after the structure fell into disrepair, the City of Alva informed the club that the Rotary hut would need to be razed.
In a year’s time, the Alva Rotary Club designed, raised the funds and constructed the Rotary Gazebo, a 25’ diameter, lighted pavilion, constructed with welded steel in the exact site of the original shelter. District Governor, Page Dobson, helped dedicate the Rotary Gazebo in 2004.
In 1948, the Alva club sponsored the organization of a Rotary club in Gage, OK. Though Gage club membership was relatively small, it has been a club that consistently ranked among the best in the district with its average attendance, for years around 100%.
Attendance of the annual Rotary District Conference was historically a club highlight. During the 1950s, it was not unusual for 10-15 Rotarians to attend the conference. Alva Rotarian, Lee Woodward typically rented a hospitality suite for the delegation to use on those occasions.
On the district level, the Alva Rotary Club takes pride in the fact that it has provided two District Governors and hosted a District Conference. The District Governors were the W.L. (Lee) Woodward who served in 1939-1940 and Bob Reneau who served in 1956-1957. Alva hosted the District Conference, held March 17-19, 1961, under the leadership of Alva Rotary President, Tom Denner. In spite of Alva’s remote location within the district, attendance at the conference was outstanding. Every club in our district was personally visited by one or more of our club members prior to the conference to ensure good attendance. President Denner organized a local group of cheerleaders and pom-pom girls who paraded, in costume, around all the tables at the conference which was held on the campus of Northwestern.
Prior to the inclusion of women as an integral part of Rotary, the Alva club members were supported by the “Rotary Anns”, the wives of Rotarians, who met monthly. Although not an
official part of Rotary, the “Anns” supported the Rotary club activities in every possible way.
These women also organized their own projects, namely the annual Halloween Spook Parade, which organized all school-age kids for a costume parade around the Woods County Courthouse on the downtown square. This Halloween Spook Parade, started in 1948, is a tradition that continues in Alva to this day.
As Rotary is expanded is global footprint, the Alva club has also been active in international activities. The Alva Rotary Club has hosted many Rotary exchange members from various countries all over the world. Our local club has also raised money for many worthwhile international project including drilling water wells in third-world counties as well is participating with the Gates Foundation and Rotary Polio Plus mission of eradicating polio in the world.
Also on a local level, the Alva Rotary Club has sponsored and organized the Alva 4 th of July Extravaganza for the past few decades. In addition to our second-to-none fireworks show, the Alva club has orchestrated all-day events around Hatfield Park including a 5K fun run, fishing derby, free community lunch and dinner, and kids inflatable games and swimming pool activities throughout the Independence Day holiday.
Additionally, the Alva Rotary Club contributes in the lives of local students. The club sponsors college scholarships, sends Alva High School students to RYLA each summer, and spearheads the annual “Toys for Tots” campaign, where we raise money, buy and wrap toys, and host an annual Christmas party for kids in Alva as well as several surrounding towns. The Christmas party typically provides over 500 Christmas gifts for approximately 250 children.
John Ryerson
Alva Rotary President