Volume XXI
Number 12

Tuesday
June 21, 2005

Kathleen's Last Meeting
As President
By Steve Ebersole
 

KATHLEEN PATTERSON Club President 2004-2005

June 14, 2005 - The familiar ring of the Rotary bell fell upon our ears one last time, save one. The sunset hour has arrived for our esteemed president's tenure with one last opening bell…and one more to close. Yes, Kathleen Patterson is probably the first to wonder where all the time has gone. The president of the United States gets 4 years, why does the president of St. Helena Rotary only get 1? This is the last Tuesday meeting to be led by Kathleen as she will be attending the conference in Chicago next week.

Kathleen thanked a myriad of folks that helped in various and tremendous ways during the year. Norm Mitroff, Carol Sobczak, Chuck Meibeyer, Donn Black, Diane Bylund, Jeff Epps, Elaine John, Jim Haslip, John Sales, Jake Scheideman, Phil Toohey, Steve Yost, Don Scully, Suzan Rada, Bill Word, Polly Keegan, and Lisa Marie Andersen.
 

JERRY MCQUIDDY

The cheerful face of our good friend Jerry McQuiddy was a pleasant surprise to see. Jerry has moved away and now attends a Rotary club in the San Jose and is terribly missed. Jerry has been given the status of an honorary guest in our club.

The Rotary Singers welcomed all those who were not on vacation with the familiar melodies. Harmonies were attempted but further adjustments may be necessary.

All new members are exhorted to check the Rotary web site for current information especially assignments for set-up and tear-down of the regular meetings.
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Suzan Rada is now International Director of Fitness for Rotary and will have a booth at the convention in Chicago.

Kelly Crane and Polly Keegan will be co-chair coordinators at next year's Winter Ball.

KELLY CRANE POLLY KEEGAN

Mike Thomas led several other Rotarians on a bike ride through the Carneros region last Saturday.

Donn Black expressed his excitement over a T.V. shows (Lehrer News Hour) presentation of Rotary's contribution to eradicate polio world wide. Kathleen added that 200 million dollars has been raised so far toward this ongoing project.

PHIL TOOHEY

 

RAFFLE

Phil Toohey won the prized black marble and many others won prizes until there were no more prizes left on the table.
 

BELL RINGERS & FINE MASTER DAVID MORELAND

• $26 from Diane Bylund for running a 26 mile run.
• $20 from Jerry McQuiddy for The best darn Rotary club (St. Helena).
• $20 from Norm Alumbaugh for not quite making his new commitment of working only half days, a promise to his wife. Maybe try it as a new year's resolution, Norm.

DAVID MORELAND

David Moreland taught several poor souls the statistical ins and outs of the almond business and wine business. According to the Master, there are presently 625,000 acres of almonds planted in the central valley of California and growing, ha ha! Actually, the crop as a whole is being planted at an increased rate of 10% per year. Price per pound is $4.00 but was only $2.00 last year. The largest wine cellar in the world is in S. Africa. And lastly, the country of Portugal has the largest cork tree in the world which is harvested once every two years yielding 100,000 corks.
 

PROGRAM: NAPA COUNTY WATER SYSTEM
 

DON RIDENHOUR

Don Ridenhour, Assistant Water Service Engineer works on behalf of water consumers in the Napa area balancing both residential and agricultural needs for present consumption and future needs. Currently there are 6,000 customers in the St. Helena area. 20% of St. Helena's customers are outside the city limits.

There are three sources of water that are available to the city but only two are being used presently.

1. Bell Canyon Reservoir is the largest supplier of potable water and is the main reservoir for St. Helena.
    
2. St. Helena has 2 wells that it draws water from.
    
3. The most recent supply that has come available is state water project water which is a misnomer because although St. Helena has the right to this source of water it has no way to transport it from the delta to the upper valley in any cost-effective way. There are pipelines that run through Solano County but the political will to cooperate and make deals that allow water to flow through Solano is apparently at an all time low.

Other ideas floating around are raising Bell Canyon Reservoir, capturing ground water, and using recycled water from wastewater for non-potable uses.

Two St. Helena Centenarians Celebrate
Rotary's 100th
By Father Mac
 

June 7, 2005 - It was another perfect day in paradise as Rotarians gathered in the Native Sons Hall to share a meal and celebrate life. Donn Black led us in the pledge and yours truly offered an invocation.
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Diane Bylund mentioned the Napa County Master Gardeners tour of six Napa gardens on Sunday, June 12 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Lydia Wilson informed us of a wildcat fundraiser in July. See her for details.

Phil Toohey announced the teacher's appreciation Barbeque to be held in Crane Park at Noon on Tuesday, August 16. Phil also announced a ton of hikes; Yosemite in June, Colorado in July, the Sierra Buttes in August, all topped off with a September outing to Nepal! You go, Phil.

BILL WORD

President-elect Bill Word reminded everyone of the upcoming debunking of President Patterson on Tuesday evening, June 28 at 6:00 PM at the Thomas home.

Suzan Rada announced a Wednesday evening, June 29, kayak adventure on Lake Hennessey.

Al Albright announced the Rotary Scholarship winners:
 

The Kevin Bailey scholarship went to Edith Ramirez  – Cal State, San Jose The Elwood Mee Scholarship went to Chris Frank – Fresno State The Rotary Academic Scholarship went to Katy Koscielak – Cal Berkeley

Mike Thomas, our intrepid cyclist, announced this Saturday's ride would begin at Cuttings Wharf at 9:30. Spin away.

PROGRAM

Apparently, the speaker for the day was not able to make it, but we were not without a program. Linda Alioto had arranged for two local citizens, each of which were over 100 years old, were on hand to be honored. As Rotary turns 100, it makes sense that our attention be drawn to individuals who had reached that benchmark as well.

Jeff Weness, former Vice President of PUC introduced our honorees. The two citizens were Lois Berry, born 1903, and Hulda Linnea Larsson (Karlsson) Nord, born 1905. These two incredible women were honored recently at the PUC Adventist Church as Women of Distinction for their dedicated service to God, their church family and their community. There is no doubt that one of the keys to their longevity is their faith. When asked what the secret of her good health was, Lois said, "My husband would say it was in my overalls, but I say it's in my genes!"

Over the course of a century Lois and Linnea have obviously experienced enormous change. Lois served on many mission trips in Mexico and South America, and was a nurse. A native of Northern California and born in Healdsburg, Lois remembers traveling by horse and buggy to both Fresno and Oakland to visit relatives. Linnea was born in Sweden and actually entered the US through Ellis Island as a teenager. She and her husband Ivar were married for 53 years. The bios could go on and on, but Lois and Linnea serve as an inspiration to all of us to live long and well and make significant contributions to the human enterprise.

NORM MITROFF

Norm Mitroff was the fine master for the day. He was brutal. Anyone who hadn't reached the $80 fine requirement was nailed for he remainder. There were too many fined to list here, but everyone starts with a clean slate next month  Bell ringers, by the way, do not count toward your fine requirements, and the suggestion is that they be designated toward a Paul Harris Fellow Schorarship.

President Patterson dismissed us with time to spare!

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. MAC+

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