Stories

Paul Harris was more than just the founder of Rotary. If all he had done was call a few business friends together and start a new club in Chicago, we probably would never know his name. Moreover, Rotary International as we know it would probably not exist, or at least not exist in its present form. Paul Harris had vision, and he shared his vision with others long after that first Rotary meeting in 1905.

In each newsletter, we will give you a "nugget" of what Paul Harris wrote about Rotary:

An Oasis in the Desert

Fellowship is the glue that holds Rotary Clubs together. Paul Harris knew this from Day 1. Some might consider it a selfish reason to join for the friendships, but having friends is as important to one’s health as breathing. Harris rejoiced in the fellowship of Rotary, and he wanted every Rotarian to rejoice with him.

“In the social desert of a city, they possessed an oasis all their own. To it the chosen few came to revel in the delights of friendly communion. No longer would any of them have occasion to dream in city parks and public places of happy days gone by; the ‘Happy days had come again.’”
(Paul Harris, This Rotarian Age, page 57)

Reprinted by permission of the Rotary Global History from the Newsletter Nuggets Section of “What Paul Harris Wrote” (www.whatpaulharriswrote.org).