The greatest service organization in the world is arguably Rotary International, with 46,000 clubs and 1.4 million members in over 166 countries. An Illinois native was one of the four co-founders of Rotary.
The first-ever meeting of Rotary International was held in the Chicago office of Gustave Loehr, a mining engineer, in 1905. Friday marks 160 years since the birth of Loehr, who played a critical role in that initial meeting but is largely forgotten outside of his hometown today.
Born in Carlinville (45 miles south of Springfield) on Oct. 18, 1864, Loehr was the fourth of seven children to German immigrant parents. By 1886, he had settled in Chicago, where he worked as an insurance solicitor and as president of a steam boiler company. By the late 1890s, though, Loehr had become a mining engineer, as he dreamed of opening parts of the western and southern U.S. for natural resources.
Though his business was volatile, Loehr treated himself to the finer things in life, like an automobile. He also opened an office in Room 711 of the Unity Building, a 16-story structure in the Loop.
Loehr, who was known for an up-and-down personality (he may have suffered from bipolar disorder), found it hard to make friends in the big city, a problem that was shared by attorney Paul Harris, an acquaintance who was also from a small town. Harris observed a few of the professional societies that existed in Chicago and concocted a plan to create his own group, a club of professional men that would not only socialize but also conduct business with each other.
Eager to try, Harris and another friend, coal dealer Sylvester Schiele, dined at an Italian restaurant on the frigid evening of Feb. 23, 1905. Meanwhile, Harris lined up Loehr and another friend, tailor Hiram Shorey, to wait at Loehr’s office.
Harris sold Schiele on the plan of a businessman’s club, and they agreed to continue the discussion at Loehr’s office. There, Harris repeated his plans for a club to Loehr and Shorey who, like Schiele, were very receptive.
All four men saw the professional and social advantages of such an organization. The informal gathering is considered the first-ever meeting of Rotary International. The men agreed to meet again and bring another friend to the next gathering, set two weeks later for March 9.
That second meeting was held in Harris’ office, with seven in attendance. At the third meeting, in Schiele’s office on March 23, officers for the fledgling club were nominated. Also discussed were possible names for the club.
Harris suggested that, since the men were meeting in each other’s offices in turn – a kind of rotating arrangement – why not call the group the Rotary Club? That title was accepted, and the name eventually became one of the most recognizable in the world.
After six meetings, the Chicago Rotary Club discontinued the practice of meeting in members’ offices and began to assemble at various restaurants and hotels, which the organization continues to do today. By 1908, a second club was founded in San Francisco, followed by Oakland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, as well as Ireland, England and Canada.
Within a few years, clubs were established in Asia and South and Central America. By 1912, there were 50 clubs around the world with a total of 5,000 members. Only two years later, the 100th Rotary Club was founded.
Loehr, however, was not a part of it. He only attended the first three meetings, then resigned to concentrate on his business interests. However, he never forgot his ties to Rotary and participated in a seventh-anniversary celebration of the Chicago club in 1912.
On May 23, 1918, Loehr was stricken while riding in a streetcar in downtown Chicago and died shortly after. His death was attributed to Bright’s disease, a common kidney ailment of the time.
None of Loehr’s obituaries in the newspapers of Carlinville, nearby Gillespie, or Springfield mentioned his involvement in Rotary. He was buried in Carlinville.
As part of Rotary International’s Centennial in 2004-05, the Carlinville Rotary Club placed a striking memorial at Loehr’s grave in Carlinville City Cemetery.
In addition, Loehr’s Room 711 office has been reconstructed as a permanent exhibit at Rotary International headquarters in Evanston.
• Tom Emery of Carlinville has created a booklet on Loehr’s life and the early history of Rotary International ($7 postpaid). He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.