Every Friday when I was growing up, my dad would tell the latest joke or pun he'd heard at his lunchtime Rotary meeting – "Why did the Rotary Club member bring a ladder to the meeting? To reach new heights in service!" We'd all groan at just how lame they were. They became known as "Dad's Rotary jokes."
When you think of Rotary International today, you might picture serious business leaders working on world-changing projects. But the story of how Rotary began is full of friendship, fun, and quite a few pranks.
In 1905 Chicago, being a young professional could be lonely. Paul Harris knew this feeling well. Having grown up in a small Vermont town where everyone knew each other, he missed that sense of connection. When he started Rotary, he made sure fun was a key ingredient.
The early Rotary meetings weren't just about business - they were about breaking down walls between people through laughter. These first Rotarians would burst into song in the middle of meetings and play practical jokes on each other.
One of their favorite traditions was called "fining." If someone showed up late or broke one of the club's playful rules, they'd have to pay a small fine. The reasons for fines were often completely made up on the spot, leading to lots of laughs. Someone might get fined for wearing too nice a tie or for not laughing loud enough at another member's joke.
Harris wrote about these early days in his book "My Road to Rotary," sharing how these moments of joy helped build lasting friendships. This blend of fun and purpose turned out to be exactly what people were looking for. Rotary clubs started popping up all over the country, then around the world. Each new club added its own flavor of humor while keeping the core idea that friendship comes first.
Today's Rotary clubs might be more structured, but that spirit of fun lives on. Many clubs still use good-natured fining, share jokes, and make sure their meetings include time for fellowship and laughter. Those first Rotarians showed us that making a difference and having fun can go hand in hand.
My club has had a history of humor and pranks, like the sudden lose of the club bell. One prank result in the exchange of the bell for the suspected parties motor scooter. The scooter was returned at the District Governor's visit with a package with an return address of Lake Placid.
Paul's original startup was networking and fellowship which expanded with the 1917 birth of The Rotary Foundation (Service).
The fifth plank of the Four Way Test is: Will it be fun? Please live up to it. Too much serious stuff going on not to infuse fun.
Thanks Ray. When our club recites the 4-Way Test at the start of each meeting we add a 5th, "Have Fun".
Bob Strubing
Rotary Club of Eugene Airport