Service counts KIN REVIEW Page Kin founder looks beyond dollar signs Hal inumhr the lub looks dull irs involved in instead tikis to of Kinsmen community service re hid million last Although calls that hi almighty dollar is second lo provided the clubs The church wis opposed to the Kins mm club in the early for a reason I still don understand Kinsmen would meet secretly in a different house every week Every Satur day they would prepare a food basket and leave it on the doorstep of an unfortunate family he said As Rogers tells the story club members would ring the doorbell of a house then leave before it was answered One night a recipient called after a man was seen leaving the house asking who had left the food The Kinsman replied God sent It Rogers uses the story to illustrate the principles of the Kinsmen Cub We believe in helping the other guy and we are not looking for money or signs of recognition in our work he said That help your neighbour policy can be illustrated 100 times by Rogers dating back to the founding of the club in 1920 FIRST PROJECT II was Rogers desire for fellowship as a newcomer lo Hamilton following service in the First World War that prompted formation of the Kinsmen Club and its first project After the war Rogers joined the famiij plumbing and heating supply business with his father Charles Rogers at age 21 wanted to join a strvue club but was rejected by Rotary because his father was already a member Soon after Rogers met another Harm ton newcomer and the two organized a dinner at the Cafe Eleven men gathered for the dinner and within a year Kinsmen had signed members In the clubs first project members made contact with newcomers in Hamilton and welcomed them to the city A number of them joined the club but we put no pressure on them to do so Our main concern was to make things easier for them in a strange city Rogers recalls As members of the original club moved away new clubs were formed across the complete with a constitution With a depression under way and the Second World War around the corner few would anticipate the Kinsmen Club would have its best years For Rogers the years spanning the depression and the Second World War were the best The club seemed to grow under adverse conditions There was a greater need than ever before to meet the needs of young people and the community he GROWTH PERIOD Instead of buckling lo the times the Kinsmen Club grew from its members in to by As men were called war more men joined the club out of a need to be active a desire to be part of it Rogers says As the war made greater demands on Kinsmen the wives of Kinsmen continued with the work We are a family organization Rogers says Close to million was raised to buy SO million quarts of milk for Great Britain children Another was raised for food parcels Kinsmen war savings stamps were sold at a rate of a week Sixty five tons of magazines were shipped to the chant marine We were more active then than before or after WAR YEARS The war years set the tone for Kinsmen community and world service in the years that followed Although the complexity and size of the organization with more than GOO clubs and 18 members has changed the goal is still the same We are never at a loss to find something that justifies service work There is always a challenge and an opportunity Rogers says Only recently Kinsmen donated in disaster relief to the tornado stricken Woodstock area ORDER OF CANADA There have been so many standouts in the life of the Kinsmen club but Rogers is hard pressed to name one On a personal level he was Order in Canada for his contribution More than individuals in nominating Rogers 1 proud of hit award he Kinsmen a lanelv of things a vanity people but Rogers says the mow men is moat significant in what it has done for Kinsmen families He tells a story of an Englishman who moved to A tax found a job and worked for some time before he could afford to bring his family over from England He had found a house but t afford to furnish It He travelled to Montreal meet his famtiv but on reluming stopped in explaining to his wife that they should spend the night there rather than return to the barren bouse at night But his wife Insisted on seeing their new Kinsmen founder Hal Rogers left receiving Order of Canada from former Governor General Jules Leger When they arrived they found a turn ished house complete with a welcoming party of Kinsmen and Kinnettes HOT MEAL The house a- hot meal provided and kids were tucked In bed Rogers said The story can be repeated many times across Canada Despite the club s record of service Rogers Kinsmen should not be the dominant factor in a member a life First comes family then your bus In ess your church and the community through the Kinsmen Club Over the years Rogers says the Kins men Club has never strayed from the original intent I am completely satisfied the work tint has been done he says Although further expansion and perhaps some change is anticipated in the future the club s basic role fellowship and community service will always be in the ALBERTA KINSMEN District Alberta Ml out lo raise for fibrosis research In When all district projects were tallied up the final 10 Ihe Indian Fibrosis was HIS Sweetheart Janice plays ihr al annual convention of Kinsmen Kinsmen lion to foundation are to approach million a year now that increased emphasis is placed on by of eight Kinsmen districts COMPLIMENTS OF DOMINION SEED HOUSE GEORGETOWN ONTARIO BEST WISHES KINSMEN ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY FROM INC THE SOURCE OF PRECISION CASTINGS RD GEORGETOWN ONTARIO 4T1 COMPLIMENTS OF BURNS TRANSPORT LTD BURNS WAREHOUSE CO GEORGETOWN ONT 398 TORONTO 457