Irish Wolfhounds

Last week Glen Harvey put together an international programme on Irish Wolfhounds.  He and his wife, Lyn are breeders in Midrand but the speakers included Tony Dunne, Chairman of the Irish Wolfhound Club of Ireland and Vice Chairman of the  Federation of Irishwolfhound Clubs as well as Genevieve Gaeng, a breeder in Belgium and the author of a book on the breed.

Tony Dunne gave us a brief history of the breed from its first written mention when in  AD 391 the Roman Consul, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus received seven dogs as a gift to be used to fight lions and bears in the arena in Rome.  He writes that "All Rome viewed them with wonder".

He took us through to the near extinction of the breed during the 19th century Irish Potato Famine and its subsequent revival and the establishment of of the Irish Society in 1908.

Genevieve Gaeng just really enjoyed being there and her book, Irish Whispers, is available. You should
speak to Glen Harvey if you are interested.

A very interesting part of the evening was a talk on dog food by Paolo de Resende who not only has studied dog foods but has also produced a highly nutritious dry product at a competitive price, VSN Dog Foods. Glen Harvey got to know him as he had a dog with health problems and Paolo's food suggestion helped enormously.

Another participant was Julia Scott Lawson, Honorary Secretary and Founder Member of the Irish Wolfhound Club of Gauteng which was established in 1982 when a group of owners got together and decided to establish a club.

It was all round a very different evening. 

The evening also saw the induction of our latest member, Wandisile Nkwalase.  

Wandisile is a pharmacist and an international marathon runner.  He has established a business to assist others who wish to run international marathons as the more who can go the cheaper it becomes for individuals.

He provides all the assistance and information that you may require and it could become a condition that an incoming new president would need to participate in at least one marathon.  A higher qualification would be necessary for incoming District Governors.

This Week:

Training Unemployed Youth in the Automotive Industry

Regan Slaughter is our guest speaker this week.  He has his own business in the tyre industry, Natural Rubber which provides training and handles specific projects within the industry.  He was previously a Senior Trainer with Bridgestone.  It will be interesting to hear how he became involved with training unemployed youth, how this has developed and what percentage of his trainees are successful and stay in the industry.

As Gordon McInally assumes the RI presidency, we look back at Rotary’s early history in Scotland

Scotland has important ties to the history of Rotary International. The British Association of Rotary Clubs, which eventually became Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, set up its original headquarters in Edinburgh in 1914. Seven years later, Edinburgh became the first city outside the United States to host a Rotary Convention. The city was also the birthplace of Jean Thomson Harris, the wife of Rotary founder Paul Harris, and the couple witnessed the organization’s growth in Scotland over several visits.

The enthusiasm and missionary zeal of Irish American Rotarian William Stuart Morrow set the course for Rotary’s development in Scotland. Morrow helped form numerous clubs in Great Britain and Ireland, including the first two in Scotland, the Rotary clubs of Glasgow (chartered April 1913) and Edinburgh (May 1913).

Another pioneer was Scottish pharmacist Tom Stephenson. As charter secretary of the Edinburgh club, Stephenson emphatically directed Rotarians to forget the “business-boosting” aspect of club membership and instead focus their efforts on useful civic service. After the club’s charter president, R.W. Pentland, was elected to the RI Board of Directors at the 1913 Rotary Convention in Buffalo, New York, he and Stephenson encouraged other clubs in Great Britain and Ireland to form the British Association of Rotary Clubs.

The association officially came into being in May 1914. Stephenson became its honorary secretary and set up its headquarters in Edinburgh. Even after the headquarters moved to London in 1921, Stephenson remained involved. He was 1927-28 president of the group, which by then had changed its name to Rotary International — Association for Great Britain and Ireland, before he served on the RI Board of Directors in 1928-29.

In June 1921, Edinburgh welcomed 2,500 attendees to the 12th annual Rotary International Convention, the first held away from the country where the organization was founded. The ocean liners Cameronia and Caronia, full of Rotarians and their wives, crossed the Atlantic from North America. It was at this convention that Rotary amended its constitution to include the goal “to aid in the advancement of international peace and goodwill through a fellowship of business and professional men of all nations united in the Rotary ideal of service.” Summing up the event’s success, 1920-21 RI President Estes Snedecor told delegates: “This convention is Rotary’s greatest opportunity. It gives promise of being Rotary’s greatest achievement.”

Although serious business was accomplished, fun and friendship were also on order. Convention festivities culminated with a grand parade through Edinburgh’s streets. Participants included Rotarians and their wives, as well as Edinburgh’s lord provost, magistrates, and councilors, resplendent in their robes of office. One highlight for many of the American visitors was sailing down the River Clyde with the Rotary Club of Glasgow, led by its most famous member, entertainer Sir Harry Lauder. Another was the offer of “home hospitality” by Stephenson and members of the Rotary Club of Edinburgh to visiting Rotarians, a tradition that remains a popular feature of the conventions.