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eR pg Says rwwa wm 10- PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, October 11, 1995 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Kinsmen give back to community By Diane Runcieman Special to The Star COLD, HEARTLESS wind swept across Lake Scugog as a lone figure huddled in the "Ice Palace" hut in Port Perry, try- ing in vain to keep warm. Despite numerous layers of clothing, he realized it was simply too cold for anyone to come out for an evening's skate. So he packed up early, a very rare occurrence, and headed back home. Inthe face of the -20C weather, the warmth in the heart of Larry burned brightly. As president of the Kinsmen Club of Port Perry for 1994-5, Larry Kendall has spent many hours "Serving the Community's Greatest Needs." The Ice Palaceisjust one of a great many service projects that have been tackled locally by the Kinsmen since the club was first char- tered 25 years ago. It was September 1970 when Jack Schill and Bori Melch of the Kinsmen Club of Oshawa first approached Mr. Kendall and Jack Dcwson to see if they were interested in setting up a Kinsmen Clubin Port Perry. Ads were run in the local paper for members, and before very long, 24 suitable men were found, sur- passing the 20 required to start a charter. With the Oshawa club sponsoring them, the National Headquarters offi- cially chartered the Kinsmen Club of Port Perryon Feb. 19, 1971. Mr. Kendall was elected the club's first president; Jack Dowson was vice- president. They served in that capacity for the first year and a half. For about the first six months, the Oshawa club officially ran the meetings, teaching the new club members the ropes of holding meetings and helping them get involved in the service of their community. Then they were on theirown, and have been going strong ever since. The Kinsmen Club is proudly the only all-Canadian service club ir: the country. Its roots go back 75 years to post-World War 1 Hamilton, where 20-year-old Hal Rogers was just returning home from active duty in Europe. Hal found that he missed the camara- derie of his fellow soldiers and the feeling of serving his country he'd had while on combat duty in France. So he thought about joining the Rotary Club; but his father, with whom he worked, was already a member. Rotary policy then was that only one person per occupation could be a member at any one time. So Hal decided to start his own service club. He discussed his idea for a club where young fellows could find compan- ionship and participate in club programs with a fellow member of his church, Harold Phillips. They each agreed to recruit one more person during the next week, and within two weeks a dozen like- minded young men organized the first Kinsmen club. As the numbers of Kinsmen Clubs and their membership grew across Canada, so did the number and diversity of communi- ty service projects the clubs became involved in. The smaller projects were handled locally, whereas larger undertak- ings were approached by several clubs together, oron a national basis. Internationally, The Kinsmen Clubs have worked in conjunction with the "Roundtablers" in Great Britain and Continental Africa, "Apex" in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea, and the "20-30" Club in America. Together these clubs have worked on a great number of projects, and enriched the lives of many people. But the Kinsmen Clubs have donated more money to chari- ty per person than anyother service club in the world. Over the years, the Kinsmen Club of Port Perry has taken on a wide range of service projects, both large and small. Many children's sports teams have been sponsored, musical and park equipment a ERI SEE RRR hasbeen purchased, and bursaries have been awarded. The many local members over the years have accomplished a wide range of tasks, from raking leaves for seniors, to re-shin- gling a roof; wherever and whenever the Kinsmen learn of a need in the communi- ty, they respond, and get the job done. This winter was the first year the Port Kinsmen has sponsored the "Ice Palace," set up to bring people to Port Perry during the months of January and February and spark some fresh activity for the local merchants. In this it has been successful, and in the past, profits, have been donat- - and sold to the public. ed locally to schools and charities. For the second time in February, the Kinsmen also organized dog sled races as part of the Snowflake Festival, which have proven to be a very popular event. live to be adults with children of their own. When Canadians celebrated the coun- try's 125th birthday several years ago, then-Kinsmen Club of Canada President As well, for Mother's Day in May, geraniums that are grown by students taking the horticultural course at Port Perry High School are purchased by the Kinsmen Again, all profits are either used for service projects or are donated to local charities. : On a National level, Kinsmen clubs have taken on huge service projects Dave Robinson coordinat- ed an event which was referred to as 'Raise The Flag." Ahuge Canadian flag made its way across the country. Everyone, especially the children, were encouraged to sign the flag, and many thou- sands did. As an active member of the Port Perry Kinsmen Club, Mr. Robinson lives true to his beliefthat every citizen over the years. The club's first and probably their largest national project was "Milk for Britain," during WW2 when British children were suffer- ing the effects of the bombing of London and Southern Britain. Across Canada, Kinsmen Clubs raised money in hundreds of unique ways, usually a few thousand dollars at a time. Their efforts paid off, and between September 1940 and May Perry work are Debra Foggetti, Brock Reville, Valerie Tapper, Tony Foggetti, Larry Kendall, John Tapper, Bruce Eckert, Judy Johnson, and John Sheremeta. 1948, the clubs raised over $2,600,000, a phenomenal amount of money at the time. Fifty million quarts of condensed milk was shipped to the malnourished British children, and to this day the generosity of Canadians is still fondly remembered. An ongoing national project has been to raise money for research into Cystic Fibrosis, a lung disease with which one in one thousand Canadian children are born. In 1942 the disease limited a child to an average life-span of only six years. Through extensive research, much of it with donated Kin dollars, (over $23 mil- lion), many children born with CF now has an obligation to give back to his community, to balance out all it does for them. On Feb. 19,1972, the Kinette Club of Port Perry was chartered as an auxiliary club to the Kinsmen. At that time, a Kinette member had to be the wife of a Kinsmen, but that has changed over the years. Now, any woman 21-45 years of age interested in serving her community while meeting new friends and having fun, can join. Doreen Kendall, Larry's wife, was the first local president. She, like her husband, has given much of her- selfover her many years of service to the club and the community. While the role of Kinettes originally was to act as social convenors for their hus- bands, in the late 30s and early 40s the Kinettes found themselves asked to sup- ply 'manpower' to the clubs whose mem- bership had been depleted by enlistment in the Armed Forces. By 1942 there were at least 30 Kinette Clubs across the country. At this time, they were formally recognized. Frances DeCew, wife of the National President, was their first leader. Over the next 50 or so years, Kinettes worked alongside their Kinsmen husbands, discovering the needs in their community and being there to meet them. Today the Port Perry Kinette Club con- sists of five dedicated members. With Debra Foggetti as their president, these busy women work independently of the Kinsmen, while continuing to follow their philosophy of serving the community. Of course, these many projects require dedication and hard work. Thousands of volunteers nationally and hundreds local- ly have given much of themselves others through their clubs in the last 75 years. They want to help make their communi- ty and their country a better place in which to live. The Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Port Perry are always looking for new mem- bers, and Tony and Debra encourage anyone with some time and energy to con- tribute to call them at 985-0032. UXBRIDGE MEMORIAL "All At Guaranteed Low Prices MEMORIALS OF DISTINCTION GRANITE MARBLE BRONZE CEMETERY LETTERING & RENOVATIONS CUSTOM DESIGNING & LETTERING Quality & Satisfaction assured by our own Written Guarantee 45 YEARS OF PERSONAL SERVICE UXBRIDGE 852-34 72 HOME APPOINTMENTS AND TRANSPORTATION BY REQUEST FOR PERSONAL SERVICE VISIT OUR SHOWROOM 108 BROCK ST. WEST COMPANY UNITED CARPET® Largest Carpet Selection In Scugog Township & a member of the largest carpet buying group in Canada. FR FAMOUS Levolor® "Y4 BLINDS * Verticals » Venetians * Pleated Shades HOMESTEAD by Ballard & Carnegie =, Hwy. 7A East - Port Peny 985-2451 or 985-2157 . eA rss eS from 554900 Copiers, Printers, Fax, Shredders. 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