Rotary Memories: by Ruth Crandall
In my mind a few memories stand out among the many things that have occurred during the almost forty years that Dick has been a member of San Dimas Rotary.
 

I remember the long-ago week night that Rotary members went to a musical production in Los Angeles, but the only things that stick in my mind about that evening have nothing to do with the stage production, the name of which I cannot recall. Our seats were high up in a balcony, and to get to them we had to descend many steep stairs, I struggled to keep my footing as I wobbled down in very high-heeled shoes, afraid that I would fall with every step, The second memory of that night is when the bus broke down in West Covina on the way home, Many Rotarians headed to the bar of the restaurant where we were stranded; others called home to let baby sitters know that we would arrive back in San Dimas very late. A replacement bus eventually came, and we gratefully filed into it. The next morning most of us were exhausted, and I swore I’d never go on another Rotary outing to Los Angeles at night during the week.
 

For years I would hiss to my husband when introductions were made at ladies’ days: “I did not promise to be your RotaryAnn; I promised to be your wife, introduce me as your wife, OK?” Of course he then did as he pleased, but being called a “RotaryAnn’ is something I don’t have to worry about any more.
I remember laughing until I felt slightly sick at hilarious speeches and elaborate joke gifts at kick-out parties. There were belly dancers at a few parties, but no one laughed; the men watched intently, with smiles on their faces. Christmas parties used to be excuses to exchange silly gifts of no practical value except to elicit laughter. I think a Christmas party was the first time the ‘Rotary Cow Pie” was presented, nicely wrapped, to an unsuspecting participant.
 

What I remember best about the first and only annual two-day Rotary Rodeo is that the club lost money on the project, which became a standing joke for years, We all had to go and help; I was “volunteered,” along with our young children, to take tickets or sell soft drinks or something, The rodeo was held in what used to be a large and dusty vacant lot where the Ranch Market, the Pizza Place and other stores stand now. My most cherished Rotary memory will always be the number of concerned phone calls we received after Dick became ill at a Rotary meeting last April. We really appreciated the genuine affection expressed by the callers. What happened to him is apparently very common when people exercise and do not drink sufficient fluids afterward.