Rutherford Rotary Built the Foundation of Our Community As We Know It Today

Who knew that over a dinner in the fall of 1918 the future of some of New Jersey’s most valuable real estate landscapes would change forever. Ninety-six years later we are experiencing the benefits of a high school, a soldiers’ monument, and an organized Y.M.C.A. The town is zoned and well illuminated. Hackensack has a fine modern hospital. The Holland Tunnel (optimistically almost named “The Rotary Highway”) connects the Garden and Empire States … all because of the visions of four dedicated men.

Thanks to these four visionaries, the signs entering town say “Welcome to Rutherford” and they helped to build the foundation of the community as we know it today. The Rutherford Rotary showed Rutherfordians that when a group of people that love their community get together to create a fine organization filled with leadership, anything is possible.

Robert A. Brunner, William Black, Guy L. Fake and Charles A. Van Winkle received personal letters from General Bird W. Spencer, inviting them to a dinner at the Passaic City Club. General Spencer at that time was President of the Peoples Bank and Trust Company of Passaic and a member of the Passaic Rotary Club.

General Spencer has a keen interest in the development of Rutherford. In 1890 he established a Rutherford Branch of the Peoples Bank and Trust Company, which was the first bank in town. And in 1910, he was one of the organizers of the Rutherford Trust Company. For many years he was an officer of the Erie Railroad. As a result of his business interests in Rutherford he became acquainted with Rutherford’s leading businessmen.

When the four Rutherfordians arrived at the Passaic City Club, the General escorted them into an evening meeting of the Passaic Rotary Club. After the meeting he suggested that his guests start their own Rotary Club in Rutherford. The four agreed, and soon thereafter began meeting at the Rutherford Elks’ Club every Friday at noon. General Spencer sent a representative from the Passaic Club to educate them in the principles of Rotary.

The slogan “He profits most who serves best” did not have much appeal to men who lived by the axiom “He who works the hardest profits most” and by the proverb “The early bird catches the worm.” It was difficult for these men to conceive of taking an hour and a half in the middle of the day to attend a luncheon meeting, kid each other and listen to a speaker, and make plans for volunteer projects. Their custom had been that if any business was going on at noon time, luncheons were forgotten until business slowed down. In contrast, they were instructed that Rotarians were expected to attend every meeting, and that their attendance was a barometer of their commitment to the goals of Rotary.

Fortunately for them, and for the people of Rutherford, they became convinced that there was a local opportunity to practice the principle of “Service Above Self.” On November 15, 1918, a group of thirteen men officially became the Rutherford Rotary Club.

A Charter, dated March 1, 1919, was granted to the Rutherford Rotary Club, whose membership had since grown to eighteen. It was presented at a dinner meeting held in the Rutherford Masonic Temple on March 28, 1919, with many representatives of the Passaic Rotary Club in attendance as the sponsors.

The newly-formed club did not wait long to begin its activities. Many matters received earnest consideration and provoked serious discussion: the creation of a public park, the organization of a Boy Scouts District, the elimination of the “billboard nuisance,” the consolidation of Rutherford with its four neighboring municipalities, taxes, prohibition, the establishment of a zoning system and an improved lighting system, the purification of the Passaic river, and the extension of Rutherford Avenue. Some of these projects became realities, while others did not.

However, the nascent Rutherford Rotary Club can point to many fine achievements over the years. Substantial contributions to worthy causes were made regularly, a scholarship fund was created, and acting with other organizations of the borough, activites for the relief of the unemployed were supported, among others. The Rutherford Rotary Club also sponsored a movement to provide rehabilitation and reemployment of men and women returning from military services at the close of the World War II. This resulted in the formation of the Veterans’ Service Committee, with representatives from the Service Clubs, the American Legion Posts and the governing bodies or Rutherford and East Rutherford.

Today, we should be thankful for the efforts of our “Rutherford” founding fathers and all that they set in motion. Rutherford Rotary continues to unite for the common good and creates positive, lasting changes in our communities, making our hometown a better place.