Minutes from March 31

[Garland, Lorie]

Rotary Ramblings from March 31, 2009

 

We were entertained by our wonderful piano player, Bruce Williams.  He
was in perfect form, as always!

 

President Steve opened our meeting.

 

Leo Phillips did the invocation

 

Sam Alterdorfer led us in song, #40 Four Leaf Clover and an old favorite
# 57 ROTARY

 

1 Birthday, Sam Alterdorfer (gave $83 dollars for the collection today -
$2 for each year which makes him 41 and a half!)

0 Anniversaries today

 

Alan Kornblau announced our visiting Rotarians.  They were:  Jay
Ackerman, St. Clair, MI; Terry Johnson, Fishers, IN;  Harold Lipofsky,
Barrington, IL; Harvey Michelman, Wharton, NJ

 

Guests were:  Patrick Lamb (Mike Campbell) and Sandy Simon (A special
treat -all Simon brothers in attendance today!)

 

Fred Bonardi gave an encouraging stock market report - Market +100 pts

DOW @ 7625 YTD -13%; NASDAQ @ 1525 YTD -12%; S&P @ 799 YTD -4%

No cookies for Fred today!

 

Roy Simon reported that the club collected $174.00 today from various
members

 

Many thanks to those that helped with Habitat and with reading at the
Achievement Center!

 

Remember May 1-3 is District Conference...We need lots of volunteers to
help with the Gala Kentucky Derby Party on May 2!!!  Lots of fun is in
store for all who participate.

 

It's that time again - Delray Affair is to be held April 17th - 19th.
Our booth will be across the street from the Blue Anchor at the Atlantic
Plaza.  The event will run from 10AM-8PM daily.

Lots of help is needed to support our club.  Bring your kids, neighbors,
and the rest of the family to help and have fun!

 

Please think of others you know to honor with an invitation to visit our
club and become a member.  We need our ranks to increase!  Membership
applications are available and in plentiful supply.

 

Ernie Simon introduced our speaker, Harvey Oyer, III.  He has a very
impressive background!

He has several graduate degrees, including a JD, a Masters in Philosophy
from Cambridge, and was a Rotary International student at Australian
University.  He is an active member of the Palm Beach County Historical
Society.  Mr. Oyer is a 5th generation native Floridian and has a very
distinguished family history in the state of Florida.  He is related to
Charles Pierce who was recently inducted into the Great Floridians
Society in Tallahassee.

 

Mr. Oyer believed that it was a disservice to the children of the state
of Florida that the state's history lessons did not cover the rich
history of south east Florida.  In order to help create more responsible
citizens and to help Florida children appreciate their rich heritage
along with the wonderful resources of Florida, Mr. Oyer wrote a
children's book.

 

The book tells the story of south east Florida's early days through the
eyes of a boy 8 years old.

The boy, Charles Pierce, is actually a relative of Mr. Oyers'.  In 1872
there were many trials and tribulations involved in moving an
undeveloped area like south east Florida from Chicago.  There had been
Indian Wars going on for many years. The existence of the first settlers
was very difficult.  There were many abandoned homes left behind by
other settlers who had tried to live here.  The Pierce family set up
housekeeping in one of the abandoned homes only to have it burn to the
ground with all their belongings later on.  All they had left were their
lives and the clothes on their backs.  For the settlers, shipwrecks,
while unfortunate occurrences, provided supplies which helped their
difficult existence be a little better.  For the Pierce family, a
shipwreck provided needed clothing and cloth (along with a sewing
machine) to make more clothes.

 

Fortunately, Charles Pierce, because he is an 8 year old boy, does not
recognize any prejudices or distrust toward Indians.  He befriends
another child, also 8, who is a young Seminole Indian, Tiger Bowlegs.
Together they have many adventures and much fun.  This also helped
bridge the gap between Indians and settlers and foster a better
understanding of the differences and commonalities of each.

 

The Pierce family withstood hurricanes, a devastating house fire, and
life as the family of a lighthouse tender.  During one adventure, after
a very bad hurricane, Charles found the wreck of a long lost ship, Our
Lady Santa Marta.  Much to his delight the chest contained approximately
457 gold coins.  After Charles and an adult were able to get the chest
home, they tried to return several days later to see what else they
might find.  Unfortunately, the sea had re-deposited all of the sand
back on the beach completely covering the shipwreck.  They were unable
to even locate the ship.  To this day, no one else has been able to find
it either.  However, because of the shipwrecks throughout history and
treasure they contained people refer to this area as the "Treasure
Coast" and the "Gold Coast."  

 

Mr. Oyer was very animated and entertaining.  If you weren't able to
attend today, I really didn't do him justice in this short account.  His
book is titled, "The Adventure of Charlie Pierce, The American Jungle."
You should go get a copy for yourself so you can enjoy the history and
tales of the wilds of south east Florida.

 

No winner in the green hat today - we play again next week.  See you
there!

 

President Steve closed the meeting with the 4 Way Test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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