1921-1930: Excerpts of Report on Trip to 7th District Rotary Conference

"...Twenty-six Rotarians left Wilmington in the special Pullman at 7 p.m., Monday, March 20, 1922. They were joined in Winston-Salem by 8 more, making the total attendance of this club 34. The outside of our Pullman bore large banners announcing to the world that the car contained "Rotes" from Wilmington, North Carolina,`The State's Leading Port and Seaside Resort.' The banners were also decorated with paintings of local scenes. One, showing two fair bathers reclining on an oversize clam shell and about to be embraced by a fortunate wave, was especially admired by a certain element of this club headed by Carl Polvogt and Frank Dean.

"The berths, except for those in the drawing room, were assigned by chance, apparently assisted by Elvie White. I will strenuously oppose any effort to have them so assigned should I ever attend another District Conference. The result was disastrous for several of us. The closest I got to a lower on the whole trip was when I started to leave my shelf and fell into the lower occupied by J.B. (Huntington).

"We arrived at Winston-Salem about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and were greeted immediately by the odor of "Camels" in the making. Hardly had the car stopped, after being shunted back and forth over the same section of the same track for over one-half hour, when Lacy Hunt boarded the car with a large envelope for each of us. The envelope contained our badges, our lunch and dinner tickets, a very complete program, a souvenir of the conference and naturally a pamphlet modestly setting forth the claims of Winston-Salem as a City..."

"The gang turned out in sections from 6:30 up to the opening hours of the afternoon session of the convention. Everything seemed to be going smoothly and sweetly until Eric Norden put in an appearance. He was greeted by cheery good mornings from all of us, but his replies were shrouded in overpowering gloom when he replied at all. His usual seriousness is as the gleeful chortle of an amused infant in comparison. Something was amiss and that something was pie.

"It seems that Tom Ames had provided a few hundred pies, Eskimo and others, to comfort the hungry on the trip. These pies had been handed out between the intervals of set-back and spit-in-the-ocean. Someone, evidently not feeling hungry at the moment, carelessly stowed his pie in Eric's bunk and forgot about it. Eric turned in and for some strange reason did not notice the pie until morning. Inasmuch as we were on the Seaboard Railroad and the pie was a squashy one the effects both physically and mentally were something to behold...

"The first session of the convention was called to order at 9:45 a.m. by Governor Joe Turner...Billy Coppock was introduced and if any man who heard his speech is not a better man and a better Rotarian, the fault lies with the individual. Billy brought us a message of what Rotary means not only to us but to the world. It lifted us out of our important, but small, 7th District and gave us a glimpse of the wonderful achievements and future possibilities of Rotary in spreading the doctrine of brotherly love and fellowship throughout nations..."

"The supreme instant of the trip was, of course, when the speaker called for nominations for District Governor. There was a moment of silence, then Rotarian Call of Richmond arose, was recognized by Governor Joe, and solemnly placed the name of Roger Moore in nomination for that honor. Our gang let loose. If we ever needed the noisy members it was then. Fortunately Tom Ames and J.B. were with us so we pulled off quite a respectable riot by ourselves. It was seconded by Charlotte, Greenville and Charleston. One other name was presented and immediately withdrawn. On a motion the secretary was instructed to cast the unanimous vote of the conference for Roger. The efforts and hopes of a year had been realized. The club and the community shares in the honor of having Roger Moore for the next Governor of the 7th District..."

– Kirby S