Our club president during the years 1948-49 was Ray Cheetham, District Manager of the Ohio Bell Telephone company. He was our 28th president of the club and was widely known in northeastern Ohio. Cheatham was extremely active in many community endeavors and especially gardening. He had founded the Akron Men’s Garden Club and did the same thing here in Kent when he started the Kent Men’s Garden Club which has lasted to now more than 70 years. Our Kent Rotary club was named the outstanding club in the district of 52 clubs during that year.Aviation claimed a lot of attention in those years and busy Rotarians found time to paint air directional signs on top of the Lamb Electric building that identified Kent from the air. This was also the year that three generations of a family were members. It happened when Sam Bissler’s grandson Jerry, who was Ira Bissler’s son, became a member. Our own Rick Bissler makes it a fourth generation to be a member.
Politics, both national and international, played a big role in Rotary programs. Bob Dix brought back first-hand knowledge of both Republican and Democratic national conventions which he covered for his newspaper. Simon Davidson asked in a Rotary program titled, “What is Russia trying to do to us?” and Middle East politics were described by Youngstown Rabbi Satlow after an extensive trip to those countries. Here it is over 70 years later and I wonder how that all turned out?
Lastly, G. Harry Wright, director of KSU’s Showboat on the Ohio River brought a sample of his entertainment and encouraged Rotarians to journey to East Liverpool, Ohio to enjoy it.
History Moments
Jim Myers
