It is Stampede Week here in Medicine Hat!

President Doug Fleming got the meeting in Rotary Park on Maple Ave started, not with the usual clanging of the bell and O Canada, but with a hearty 'all together now' YEEHAW!

Members formed a circle, most sitting on conventional deck chairs, with the exception of Stan Sakamoto who brought along a very different seating contraption!

Doug reminded members about Rotary’s water connections, in particular swimming and safety – all of which is set out in detail and with photographs, in the club’s history document, titled “100 years of Rotary. Making a difference in Medicine Hat & Beyond”. See pages 23-26.

In summary, the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat led the way with swimming pools, swimming lessons and water safety in the community for almost 100 years.

In 1922 the club created a park and swimming area for youth in the Seven Person’s Creek area, called ‘Beaver Dam’. This was the first of four Rotary Swimming projects.

The most well-known was the Flats Pool in Rotary Park on Maple Ave, which was a well-loved and well-utilized swimming pool for the community for over 40 years. It was indeed an important social and community hub in Medicine Hat from 1930 to 1973.

 

The pool was closed in 1973 and demolished in the spring of 1974.

The park officially became ‘Rotary Park’ in 1935.

The gazebo – very popular for weddings over the years - was added by the Medicine Hat Multicultural Folk Arts Council in July 1996.

After this brief reminder about Rotary's water connections and the pool in the Park on Maple, President Doug said he was dispensing with formalities and went on to facilitate a wonderfully relaxed meeting. There was a gentle breeze that made the temperature quite pleasant.

The 12 members present had a great time of fellowship and fun, amongst others, sharing stories about mishaps they had experienced with horses over the decades, particularly during childhood! – an appropriate topic for Stampede Week!

Adding much humour to the story telling, Dave Stalwick produced a ‘yellow card’ at appropriate times, with warnings about red cards at our next Rotary meeting!

Passers-by listened in, including a seagull and a deer…

In addition to Doug’s historical input and the members very funny stories about their experiences with horses, a highlight was singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Neil, video’d by Dave Panabaker.

 

In the words of Dave, "The Medicine Hat Rotary Club was delighted to acknowledge an old friend, on a milestone birthday. PDG Neil Sharman, of the Rotary Club of Hucknall, will turn 90 on August 1st. Neil visited our club in July of 2007, and through the connections of Adolf Seiler and Al Gray, was able to ride a horse in the Stampede parage. In honour of his birthday, a video'd birthday greeting has been sent".

President Doug wrapped the gathering some minutes after 13:00, reminding members that the meeting on Monday 27 July would be held at CORE, the guest speaker being JD Gaeton, talking about CanCarb.