"Most Rotarians know that Paul Harris founded Rotary, but few know much about him beyond the fact that Rotary’s highest honor, “The Paul Harris Award”, bears his name. As we learn more about our own club’s “Century of Service 1915-2015”, let’s take a moment to learn more about Rotary International’s founder, Paul Percy Harris. I have selected and paraphrased most of what is written below from “A Century of Service, The Story of Rotary International” by David C. Forward, who was commissioned to document Rotary’s first 100 years by Rotary International. It was written for the education of Rotarians. If you enjoy what you read, thank David Forward, not me.
Speaking only for myself, as a Rotarian for 38 years, I had developed some perceptions about Paul Harris that allowed me to put his image into a neat little pigeon hole. Wrong! As I’m reading about his early life and formative years, I’ve developed a much greater appreciation for this simple, yet very deep and complex person. Harris is often thought of as a somewhat shy and lonely man from rural Vermont who somehow found himself as a young attorney trying to get established in the very big and unfamiliar metropolis of Chicago. Out of his desire to make new friends (and help to grow his law practice) he asked a few acquaintances to help him form a business and professional social club. Rotary was born. Well, that’s the simple story.
Less known is the story of Paul’s early childhood as he was born into a fairly dysfunctional household: his parents had a less than happy relationship; his father was a failed shop keeper in Wisconsin who then drifted from job to job and suffered from chronic financial problems; they had a broken home that took Paul to his grandparents in Wallingford, Vermont where, at age three (3), he was left to be raised and cared for by his father George’s parents. Except for a very brief time of attempted reconciliation, the family separated again, for good, and Paul returned to the loving stability of his grandparents’ home in Wallingford, VT. Being raised by his grandparents proved to be a life-saving and life-altering blessing for Paul.
Grandfather Howard Harris taught Paul the value of a good work ethic and the importance of tolerance. Paul described his “Pa” as an ambassador of goodwill who never spoke evil of any man’s religion or politics. “Pa” worked six days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, wearing the same clothes, to provide for his family. The elder Harris family was the sole Jewish and Roman Catholic residents in Wallingford and the subject of no little scrutiny and curiosity. Nonetheless, “Pa” treated everyone with dignity, respect and friendship and his wife frequently provide hot meals and fresh baked goods for those in need. She was a compassionate listener as well. These practical character lessons were not lost on young Paul.
Paul’s grand “parents” were disciplined in rearing him. Strict bedtimes and daily farm chores at home helped to develop Paul’s strong work ethic. Balancing this was Harris’ innate love of foolishness, pranks and practical jokes. He loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing and exploring new things and far-away places.
At his best, Paul was a very average student academically and seemed to have more interest in pranks than books. He was actually expelled from both Black River Academy and Vermont Military Academy, the latter due to a wrongful accusation of misconduct for which the school later apologized and then completely absolved Harris, even conferring a B.A. in physical culture and an honorary Ph.D., in 1933. Later he attended Princeton University in New Jersey and there he performed well academically.
After the death of his beloved ‘Pa”, Paul’s life suddenly had no direction. He took a job sweeping floors and cleaning furnaces. His well-learned work ethic earned him promotions and he spent a year in mourning, reminiscing and thinking about his future. He remembered many dinners in Wallingford when his “Pa” would talk about a local attorney named Lawyer Lawrence, who displayed great integrity, was always interested in justice and always displayed great respect for judges and juries alike. This memory caused young Paul to start to subtly think about law as a worthy profession.
Paul chose to start law school in 1889 at the University of Iowa in Des Moines. On his way there his train stopped in Chicago and he spent a week there in what was still then a frontier town. Chicago was a bustling metropolis in the middle of a building boom after the cataclysmic Chicago Fire in 1871, which destroyed four square miles of that city. The sights and sounds of this big city made an indelible impression on Paul. At Iowa he earned his law degree in 1891 as a good, but not outstanding, student. He later remarked that the greatest benefit he derived from his educational experience was the contact he had with other students.
The five year period after earning his law degree proved to be one of the most exciting and transforming periods of Paul’s life. He followed the trail of American explorers on a hunting and fishing foray to the northwestern U.S. When money ran out he went to San Francisco and worked as a newspaper reporter for the Chronicle. He picked fruit as a day laborer. He taught at a business college in Los Angeles. He worked at the Old Fifteenth Street Theater as an actor and again as a reporter, in Colorado. Then he moved to Jacksonville, Florida where he worked as a night clerk in the Hotel St. James. There he met George Clark, a marble and granite dealer who recruited Paul to be a salesman. Soon after, he went to Washington, D.C., Kentucky and Pennsylvania, doing odd jobs for the sheer experience of discovering people and places and the purpose in life. In Philadelphia he took a job as a crewman on a cattle boat bound for England: a dreadful experience. The ship was filthy and the seas rough. Conditions onboard were no better for the crew than for the cattle. After a fourteen day voyage and only a few hours in Liverpool the ship started back to the U.S. with Paul on board. Back home, Paul sought yet another ship to England, this time without cattle, destined for London where he spent a few very happy days.
Upon his return home, Paul caught a train for Chicago to see the World’s Fair. It was 1893 and they were celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the new world. Twenty seven million visitors attended between May and September. It was then that Paul decided that Chicago would be a good place to launch his law career after his vagabond days were done. Afterward, Harris was off again to New Orleans which he described as America’s most fascinating city. While he was picking oranges there it just happened to be the year of the “storm of the century”. Paul and his crew carried several women and children to safety through snake infested waters. The storm claimed 1,200-1,500 lives. Afterward, he said, “The suffering and horror of that night still remain in my memory.”
Paul returned to Jacksonville to resume his sales position with George Clark. His territory covered the southern states as well as the Bahamas and Cuba. A year later Clark sent Paul on a buying trip that extended from Scotland to Italy. This relationship extended for two and a half years. Paul then advised Clark, “I’m not going to Chicago for the purpose of making money; I’m going for the purpose of making a life.” Harris made one last trip to New York for Mr. Clark to resolve some office problems there and then at 28 years of age, Paul Harris headed for Chicago on February 28, 1896.
For five years, Paul Harris found out what it was like to be cold, hungry and alone. He learned to survive based on his own resources, his sense of humor, his raw hands, and his intellect, in order to get by. He saw strangers perform extraordinary acts of human kindness and he watched others cheat and steal to gain the upper hand. In the midst of evil he found goodness and he learned that no one gets more than he puts in. He gained vision and a better understanding of his fellow man."
Next week's installation will be from Past President Joe Halter for 1996-1997.
During our meeting on October 10, 2014, members will have the opportunity to bid on four (4) NFL tickets to the 1:00 p.m. Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 12th.
