Murfreesboro, TN – The Murfreesboro Rotary Club celebrated a major milestone when they met at noon on Tuesday (10/8/2024) at Carriage Lane Inn on East Burton Street. Ruthertherford County's oldest civic club celebrated its 105th anniversary!
Club President Randy Allen welcomed District 6760 Governor Bret Hrbek who congratulated membership for achieving the goal of having 100 per cent of its membership being Paul Harris Fellows...
Paul Harris was a Chicago attorney who had the vision of Rotary when he was a child, and in 1905 founded what is now Rotary International. It makes a special connection for the Murfreesboro group to be charted only 14-years after the premiere group formed in the Windy City.
The achievement of 100 per cent of a club’s membership being Paul Harris Fellows is another major accomplishment, and one that has taken decades to achieve. It shows a total commitment to the beliefs of Rotary International and a commitment to its goals.
The Murfreesboro club was chartered in March, 1919, by the Nashville Rotary Club. The group of Music City businessmen made the 40-mile trek to this community several times weekly on what is now the Old Nashville Pike. In reality, that club was also relatively young. It was only 5-years earlier when Nashville's charter was inked in 1914.
Both the Nashville and Murfreesboro members were determined to start this county's first civic club and bring to Murfreesboro the ideals of Rotary. There were several challenges. The biggest was perhaps the Spanish flu epidemic that lasted from 1918-1919. That disease had a major impact on Rutherford County as evidenced by markers at the Evergreen Cemetery.
And just months after the Murfreesboro Rotary Club began, Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Much was happening in this area, along with soldiers returning home from the end of what was called The Great War (World War I).
The Murfreesboro Rotary Club was started by two “Jim’s” who both shared an interest in Jersey cattle and both were on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee State Fair Association. Nashville Rotarian Jim Cayce passed the Rotary torch to Murfreesboro’s James M. Butler. This city’s Collier Crichlow had heard of the civic group’s achievements in Fort Worth, Texas and got behind the local movement. The charter membership reads like a “who’s who” in Murfreesboro history (see link below).
Even 105-years later, Rotary still lives by the 4-Way Test:
- Is it the truth.
- Is it fair to all concerned.
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships.
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned.
Congratulations to Rutheford County’s first civic club, the Murfreesboro Rotary Club, on celebrating its 105th anniversary during this week’s meeting.
CLICK to see the founding members of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club in 1919
CLICK to see the past presidents of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club over its 105-years of history.
The Murfreesboro Rotary Club meets at noon every Tuesday at Carriage Lane Inn, 337 E. Burton St. in Murfreesboro.
