Rotary Monthly Themes

We educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases. Rotary members have hundreds of health projects underway around the world at any given time. 
 
Club Executives & Directors
President
Past President
Secretary
Treasurer
Rotary Foundation
Membership
Service Projects
Club Administration
Youth Exchange Counsellor
Youth Exchange Officer
Director
Speakers
In person - Harbour Hill Suites - Noon
Jan 02, 2024 12:00 PM
Bayfield River Flats - Roger Lewington & Dave Gillians
In person - Harbour Hill Suites - 7:00 pm
Jan 16, 2024 7:00 PM
Marty Kleuskens - Introduction to club
Upcoming Events
Meeting Information
Goderich

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Harbour Hill Retirement Suites
104 Suncoast Drive E
Goderich, ON N7A 0A7
Canada
Meetings are the First and Third Tuesday of the month. The 1st Tuesday is 12:00 for lunch and 12:30 meeting portion. The 3rd Tuesday is at 7:00 pm in the evening. Meetings are hybrid, contact club admin to attend by zoom or attend for lunch.
 
CLUB RECOGNITION
 
 
 
 
 
 
RSS - Rotary International
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Rotary projects around the globe December 2023

Learn how Rotary clubs are taking action in the United States, Peru, Italy, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.

WELCOME TO THE ROTARY CLUB OF GODERICH
 
 
Rotarians are People Of Action, driven by a desire to create opportunities, strengthen communities, and find solutions to the tough challenges that affect people around the world.  Your time, energy, and a passion to improve your world are all you need to get involved with Rotary
 
GET INVOLVED TODAY!
 
 
                          JOIN NOW     
HEADLINES

 
Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Grand Bend who hosted a celebration dinner Wednesday November 29th recognizing the significant milestone of 100 containers shipped to African countries, under their major Global Literacy project. Goderich Rotarians were pleased to contribute to several of the containers.
Bruce Thomasson and Michael Strickland joined in the celebration on behalf of the Goderich club.
   
 
Oktoberfest, the perfect excuse to dress up and party.
 
 
The Rotary Skate Park in Bannister Park has new signage to recognize John Gordon (past Rotarian) and Jake Hiemstra (community volunteer) for their efforts in getting a permanent skate park for the youth of the Goderich community.
The Rotary Cove Wheelhouse building has a new steel roof.  The Rotary Club was happy to be a major contributor to this update. Rotary members planted and continue to maintain the native flower garden in front of the wheelhouse and were please to see the beautiful fall colours.
 
 
  
 
Goderich Rotarians joined Maitland Trail Association volunteers on October 22 to plant 50 native Ontario shrubs in the Maitland Woods. We anticipate it will be an ongoing environmental project to increase the biodiversity of the wetland, urban forest. The project intends to control the non-native aggressive buckthorn shrub that threatens the woods. Native shrubs planted included viburnum, dogwood and black current.
Great presentation by our rebound exchange students (l-r) Carly deJong and Bailey Stackhouse.
Carly spent the past year in France and Bailey spent her year in Brazil. We are being shown the exchange jackets with pins accumulated during their year away.  An exciting year for both of them.  Applications are underway for the 2024-25 Rotary year for young people ages 15-19.
Complements of Rotarian Ken McGee
 
Some might ask, why would you be the one to write a story about Peter Zimmermans hot dog wagon!
Well, I feel pretty qualified and am going to tell the story from my point of view.
Peter started selling popcorn and hotdogs from his Model T in 1929.  Some might argue saying it was 1931 but I always remember hearing that Pete,  Reg. McGee Garage and Geo. Schaefer Dry Goods all started in the year 1929.
Petes wagon sat every evening on the corner of Hamilton
Street and the Square. Our garage was then located right behind the Royal Bank and most evenings after work as a young lad I would go up to Petes and sit in the wagon, eat Dogs and Corn and talk with him.  I was so impressed with the way he handled and talked to his customers young and old.  Each person had his full attention and inquiries  always came  from Pete in his kind and  gentle way of how are things were with the family and so on ,endearing him to all his patrons.
Around midnight I would help Pete clean up in the area where people might throw napkins etc: He always left his corner only after it was neat and clean.
Pete drove Studebaker cars purchased from Gord. Bannister garage in town.
At one time from his house he sold and installed aluminum awnings.
One evening as a story goes, Pete was driving home down South Street when a new Rookie cop pulled him over for no taillight.
Pete got out, looked at the light and said to the cop- got a match?
The young officer obliged, Pete lit the oil lamp and drove off much to the cops amazement.
Finally it was time for retirement and the wagon was set in the backyard of their home on Cameron Street, covered with a heavy tarp.
The odd time the tarp was pulled off and Pete would do hot dogs for family and friends gatherings in their backyard.
In 1987 The Rotary Club was raffling off a new Pontiac Grand Am and the final day draw event was to be in Courthouse Park.  I thought would it not be a great idea if we had Pete and the wagon uptown for this.
I asked a fellow Rotarian who had worked in the Wagon as a youngster by the name of Howard Aitken to come with me to Petes house.
We sat on the back porch while I brought up this idea and surprisingly, Pete agreed as long as we picked it up and delivered it back in proper, clean condition and that we used exactly the same dogs and condiments that he used and for sure, fried onions and steamed buns.
What an evening that was. Pete sat in a lawn chair close to the wagon and hundreds of people showed up. While waiting in line to be served they all chatted with Pete who was loving every moment.  He had endeared himself to a whole generation of people and it sure showed that night.
After that the wagon was donated the Huron County Museum who promptly put it in storage in a shed out by the airport.
Another Rotarian by the name of Mac Campbell was deeply disturbed by this and got hold of Petes daughter Carol Ann (Fisher) now living in London and asked her if she would ask the Museum to grant ownership of the Wagon to the Goderich Rotary Club and for a $1.00 fee the ownership was transferred to the Club.
We stored it in Mike Rogers driving shed at his farm out in Colborne where many evenings of work parties worked on the old Model T. Painting, woodworking, scrubbing got it looking good but it was not in running condition.  McGee Motors had an old time Ford mechanic working for them at this time by the name of Don. Duench.  Don had actually apprenticed for Rice Motors, a Ford dealership in Milverton who owned a few old Model T cars so we had a qualified person to get this old wagon running again.
McGee Motors absorbed the bill for all the time and repairs but as I remember, some used car seemed to get a large bill for reconditioning costs.
So now you have parts of the story you never heard before.
However the old T was a deathtrap to drive. You had no vision but straight ahead, doors flapping open, pots and cans rattling around, the seat was a coke case that I found in an antique store in Harriston because that was always what Pete sat on, so we decided for safeties sake it would now be towed to all occasions.
It sits stored out in the Service Club shed until the club wants to get it out for an event.  The club still uses every food item that Pete did for preparing the dogs and the buttered popcorn.  The amount of comments the club receives and the remembrance of Pete and especially of the smell of fried onions is mentioned by so many at every event.  It has been brought out a couple of times for Christmas display and in local parades.  This summer it was a smash hit at the Old car show on the Square and sold a pile of hotdogs which helps the Rotary Club do its good deeds in our community and to keep alive the great memory of Pete and his wagon.
DIVERSITY. EQUITY, AND INCLUSION