It was the 1920s when American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh departed from North Island to New York in the Spirit of St. Louis – weeks before he completed the first transatlantic flight to Paris.
Halfway into that decade, also known as the Roaring Twenties, a group of businessmen formed what has become the longest standing service club in Coronado.
On March 8 the Rotary Club of Coronado celebrated 100 years of commitment to “Service Above Self.”
“We decided we’d have a celebratory exhibit,” said Coronado resident Steve Duermeyer.
The Coronado Historical Association (CHA) opened “A Century of Service: 100 Years of the Rotary Club of Coronado,” at the centennial mark. The free exhibit is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 14 at the Coronado Historical Association at 1100 Orange Ave.
Christine Stokes, CHA director, said the association spent the past year working with the Rotary Club Exhibit Committee to research, interview and organize years of the club’s history.
“This exhibit brings to light all of the work that they’re doing but also in a way that puts it in a historic context which is really important for people to understand how Rotary has been so impactful but also so essential to Coronado over the years,” said Stokes.
Rotary history
Paul P. Harris, from Chicago, established the first Rotary club in 1905 with the vision “to create a club of professionals from diverse backgrounds who could form meaningful friendships and support one another both personally and professionally.”
Similarly, Albert H. Foret, part owner of the Coronado Journal in the 1920s, helped establish the Coronado Rotary Club composed of under two dozen Coronado residents when it received its new charter, dated March 8, 1926.
The Coronado Rotary Club’s website says it has over 270 dedicated men and women doing community, international, vocational, club and special activities. Club membership is attained through an invitation, nomination and screening process.
The club is part of more than 45,000 rotary clubs globally, including a separate binational club locally.
Duermeyer said the exhibit pays tribute to prominent rotarians such as Ron Beaubien who joined the club in 1976, served as president from 1984-85 and was selected as member of the Rotary International Board of Directors for 2003-05. Beaubien is credited for establishing the annual Coronado Christmas Parade after he lobbied in Sacramento to close a section of Route 75.
“None of these gentlemen are alive but we sort of dedicated this exhibit to their honor and explain what their accomplishments were in the area but also in the world stage,” said Duermeyer.
Global impact
The club continues to support the international mission to eradicate polio, an infectious disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis, through an annual fundraising event which dedicated $645,000 in 2024.
“The Rotary Club of Coronado has done so much for End Polio Now,” said Stokes. “But also so much that we’ve done just over the border.”
The club has provided over 2,000 prosthetic limbs through its international initiative, Limbs of Freedom, based in Ensenada since 1998.
Duermeyer said the club has also built half-dozen homes for families in Tijuana.
The club leads an exchange program for youth, the Interact club for high schoolers, and provides scholarships to local graduating seniors.
“You’re doing these rotary projects because you know that this is going to improve not just our community but the world,” said Stokes, a Rotarian since 2017.
While the club centers on service, Stokes said, it’s also about boosting the local economy and businesses.
“In some communities service clubs aren’t as popular anymore,” she added. “Coronado has kept this service club for 100 years and I think that you see through the impact of its programs and the inclusivity of its membership that that’s why it continues to thrive.”
As for the centennial exhibit, Duermeyer said, “It saves our history and it shows it to the world – and it makes us proud.”
To learn more, visit: https://coronadohistory.org/ and https://www.coronadorotary.org/.
