Apr 3, 2006 By Jenny Susa 5 min read

The Brownsville Rotary Club celebrated 85 years of community service in March, and members say the club has developed a long list of accomplishments since it was officially chartered on March 21, 1921. “The Rotary Club has really done a lot for the area,” said club President Ernie Nelson. “Our flag project has been a large undertaking, and although it is a work in progress, we have provided over 100 flags for the streets of downtown Brownsville on national holidays.”

Nelson also commented that the Rotary Club has “an excellent literacy program,” which it sponsors for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The program has provided activities such as “Reading Around the Town,” when students went to different locations in Brownsville and read literature about the city’s history.

Nelson said that the club is sponsoring “Reading Around the World,” which is held at the Thompson House on the second Saturday of each month. While the students are there, they read literature about different countries, and Nelson said that whatever country they choose for the month, snacks are served that go along with that theme.

The students participated in poster contests for both “Reading Around the Town” and “Reading Around the World.”

Maria Fetock chairs the literacy program.

Nelson and other group members noted some of the Rotary’s largest undertakings are the student study exchange and the group study exchange.

Long-time member Melvin Baxter is in charge of the student exchange, which allows students in the area to study abroad and students from other countries to visit the United States.

“It’s things like this that a lot of people don’t know the Rotary does,” said Baxter, adding that the program has been life-changing for some of the students. “They experience so many things that many are more focused when they come home, and some have changed their thoughts about what they want to do in college. One student went to Russia and she was planning to major in theater, but after her trip, she decided to major in international studies.”

Nelson said the Rotary is hosting a student from Japan.

“The Brownsville Rotary has a long history of hosting exchange students from other countries,” said Nelson. “Probably longer than many others in the district.”

A similar program is the group study exchange, which is for adults in various professional fields.

Scott Campbell, who heads the program, called it “an effort by the Rotary to involve non-Rotarian business people.”

“They are sent abroad to various parts of the world,” said Campbell. “This year, we are sending someone to Germany and, in turn, someone from there is coming here.”

Campbell said the duration of each trip is about one month, and a Rotarian team leader will go with a study group that contains one person from four or five different occupations.

“I was in Japan in 2000 and it is an experience you just don’t forget,” said Campbell. “The host people were extraordinary. You get to see so much of the various cultures and you stay in homes wherever you go. There are vocational days when people get to see business operations in that country. Someone (in the field of journalism) would go to see printing operations and things of that nature. Each person would see something from their own field.”

Campbell said that the Rotary Club provides the funding for the trips and there is no cost to the individual traveling, except for personal expenses.

Rotary Secretary Bill Johnson provided some history for the Brownsville Rotary Club, and he said that it has sponsored the organization of three other Rotary Clubs, including Charleroi in 1922, Masontown in 1924 and California in 1945.

“All of these clubs are now active in district and international affairs,” said Johnson, explaining that new Rotary Clubs are typically started by existing clubs.

In writing the history of the Brownsville Rotary Club, Johnson said, “It would be impossible to list, in such a brief historical account, all the projects which have been conducted by the club. It would be better to say that the life of the community was literally transformed by this powerful club and the men and women who have enjoyed membership in it.”

Over the years, Johnson said the Rotary Club has undertaken projects such as the Hustead Athletic Field, The Children’s Room at the old Brownsville General Hospital, and later, purchased equipment at the hospital. In more recent years, donations were given to the hospital, and playground equipment was purchased and installed at the Brownsville-Luzerne Community Park (Patsy Hillman Park).

The Brownsville Rotary Club sponsors scholarships for college students and has maintained its interest in the Rotary’s four major fields of service: club, community, vocational and international.

Johnson said that, “while (some of) these projects were seen by all, many others cannot, and will never be recorded.”

We in Brownsville have enjoyed Rotary to the fullest,” said Johnson. “Our work is not done. We commend “service above self” to all who follow in our footsteps.”