Green Bay Kiwanis Club History
On Tuesday, August 28, 1917 a group of 43 local businessmen gathered at noon at the old Beaumont Hotel on the corner of Washington and Main Streets to organize the first Green Bay Kiwanis Club. This was only two years after Kiwanis was founded in Detroit, Michigan and was one of the first Kiwanis Clubs to be organized in Wisconsin.
At that initial meeting, Victor C. Lewis was elected temporary president and later became the club’s first president. Lewis was general agent for Great Lakes Northern Life Insurance Company of Wausau, and was frequently referred to as “Major” Lewis. A rank which he had earned during military service in the Philippines.
The speaker at that first meeting was William Calahan, an automobile dealer who talked about the new invention that was beginning to appear on city streets – the automobile. Weekly meetings were scheduled for Tuesday noon at the Beaumont Hotel. During the early months of its existence, the club conducted a very active membership campaign. There were 43 members at the initial meeting, and by October 10th, the club had 85 members. On October 24th, membership had reached 94 members, which was considered a rapid growth for a community the size of Green Bay.
Initially the Kiwanis Club served more as a booster type organization designed to promote the business interests of its members. At each meeting there was an “oral booster” who served as the speaker and generally gave a talk promoting his business, and a “silent booster” who presented a gift to each member present. This was typical of all service clubs in those days. Ultimately self promotion gave way to the community service approach that we have today.
However, even in those early days the Green Bay Kiwanis Club was very dedicated to community service. Only two months after its initial meeting the club assumed the leadership of the Y.M.C.A War Fund Drive to provide for the servicemen during World War One.
While the club was organized in 1917, it didn’t officially receive its charter until November 3, 1919 when International Secretary, O. Samuel Cummings, presented it at a banquet and dance at the Beaumont Hotel.
During the early years the Kiwanis Club met at the Beaumont Hotel. However, the club eventually switched the meeting location to the Hotel Northland where, for many years, it met Monday noon in the Crystal Ballroom. When the Northland became the Port Plaza Hotel, the club continued to meet there until 1978. When the Northland hotel had closed, and the Crystal Ballroom was no longer available, the club relocated its meeting place to Elk’s Club. Later, the Elks Club had discontinued noon food service and moved to the Downtowner, and finally moved to its present meeting place at the Clarion Hotel.
-History of club provided by longtime club member Bob Flatley