Rotary Park dedicated to
Rotary's 100th Anniversary

On February 23, 1905, Rotary International, the world's first and largest non-profit service organization was founded. Paul Harris met with three of his friends in Chicago, Illinois, to promote business fellowship. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

In 1914, three Lancaster business leaders, John Wickersham, Fred Pyfer, and Scott Baker, organized the Rotary Club of Lancaster. A year later the group was granted a Rotary International Charter.

In 1955, Rotary International adopted the 4-Way Test. conceived by President Herbert Taylor, the 4-Way Test is a guide to Rotarians in their business, community and personal affairs.

Rotarians use this test and share it with others. It is on monuments, billboards, labor contracts, and wrapping paper. It serves as the centerpiece of Service Above Self.

For ninety years the Rotary Club of Lancaster has played a vital role in the Lancaster community. Numerous community social service projects can be attributed to the support both financially and through the volunteer effort of Lancaster Rotarians.

Lancastrians will recognize many of the projects where Rotary provided the seed money. Included are the Rotary Home for Boys which later became the Barnes Hall Juvenile Detention Center; the Crippled Children's Society of Pennsylvania today known as the Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center; the Playground Association which lead to the establishment of the Lancaster Recreation Commission; the creation of a Student Loan Fund; financially assisting with the establishment of the Cleft Palate  Clinic; assisting in the establishment of Camp Harmony Hall; counseling and financial support of the Boys Club of Lancaster's Graduate Home Project; and many others.

In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against polio. Through its Polio Plus program, polio cases worldwide have dropped by 99 percent since, and the world stands on the threshold of eradicating the disease. A highlight of the Rotary Club of Lancaster was its involvement with Polio Plus. Named one of the ten model clubs worldwide by Rotary International, the Rotary Club of Lancaster  demonstrated  their  leadership  by  raising $255,000, $55,000, the Club's goal.

As Rotary reaches its centennial, there are over 1.2 million Rotarians comprised of professional business leaders and over 31,000 clubs in more than 165 countries.

The Rotary Club of Lancaster continues to apply the 4-Way Test in its community work. Its partnership with the School District of Lancaster has provided thousands of new books and reading programs to the students of the districts. The Youth Exchange Program continues to bring international understanding to youth of Lancaster County.

In more than 31,000 communities worldwide, Rotary Clubs have dedicated Centennial Community Projects that Celebrate Rotary while fulfilling an important need in the community. The creation of the Lancaster Rotary Park: Let the Kids Play, will provide a place for children and their families to gather for years to come and celebrate the lessons we all learned as children during unstructured play.

Rotary Club of Lancaster dedicates this Centennial Rotary Park as a permanent symbol of our commitment to this great city — a symbol that serves as a daily reminder of our support and involvement in the success of our youth and community.

[Rotary Park is near 101 West James Street, Lancaster PA]

Photos from Lancaster Rotary Park
(https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=136618}

Next: Summer Youth Initiative