March 1, 1922 - April 30, 1923

President: George W. Corbin
Vice Pres: G. Harry Whiteman
Secretary: D.F. (Deak) FIsher

Attendance: 92.49%
New Members: 9
Members Lost: 6
Members end of the year: 58

The record is not clear as to just when the first club year ended and the second started but it seems to indicate it was March 1, 1992. The record is clear that the second year ended on April 30, 1923.Wenatchee Rotary led the District for the year 1922/23 in attendance with a record of 92.49%. We had five meetings with 100% attendance.

We passed a special assessment on each member of $3.00 to cover the cost of an advertising campaign for the "Back to School Movement". Twenty-three boys who had attended school last year failed to return this fall. Their names were given to a special committee to contact and attempt to change their minds. Several boys reported for school as a result of this effort and some others agreed to go back after apple harvest. By November 9th, nine more had reported to school.

The Rotary Convention in Los Angeles adopted more stringent attendance rules, which made it more difficult for our members who miss a meeting. With no other clubs in Wenatchee the nearest club was at Ellensburg. Another new rule adopted at the Los Angeles Convention required a member to devote at least 60% of his business life to the business of the classification he holds. This caused several of our members to have to surrender their membership.

Inadequate dues of $20 per year caused the need of a special assessment of $5.00 per member to cover operating expenses. District Governor Lamb recommend that the dues be increased. They were, to $30 per year, at the November 16 meeting. This was also a 100% attendance meeting made possible by five of our members driving over to Ellensburg to make up their missed meeting.

Rotarian N. I. Newbauer was recognized by the club the week of August 17 on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of his store. John Gellatly presented him with a basket of flowers.A carload of apples was sent by the Rotary Club to the Boys Industrial School at Centralia and also the Girls Industrial School at Grand Mound.

On December 7th Hal Sylvester was mad permanent Editor of the Apple Seed and the club's regular meeting place was changed from Peter Pan Restaurant to the Elks dining room.

At the January 11 meeting the club agreed to sponsor the medical expenses of a two-year-old girl who has club feet. The club paid the hospital expense and two members, Joe F. Patrick and R. T. Congdon donated the medical and surgical care.

At various meetings in May and June several of our members spoke on the application of the principles of Rotary, particularly in the field of Business Ethics. Also discussed was a close working relationship with the Lions Club in dealing with boys work, camps, and support of the Boy Scouts.

Club History Chairman, Fred Crollard, asked all members to report service in the community so that it could be included in the club's history. The following is reported "with some hesitancy" from Crollard's committee:

During the year 1921, industry and agriculture in the United States was "in the dumps". The Congress of the United States ordered the Interstate Commerce Commission to hold hearings at which any industry could appear, present its case, and plead for reduced transportation costs. It was a question whether the Northwest Apple Industry should take advantage of this opportunity. We were enjoying a very profitable year. As later developed, the apple crop of that 1921 year brought the apple growers of the Wenatchee District sixteen and one half million dollars f.o.b. shipping point of which four and one-half million dollars was profit. Should we present a case and ask for relief?

It was finally decided that the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association would send two men to Washington, D.C., a freight rate expert and an apple grower, to consult with its attorney there, after which the decision would be made. It was assumed that if a case was prepared and presented, it would be prepared and presented by the freight rate expert, and that the apple grower, after a nice trip and vacation, would be home in ten days.

The Washington, D.C. attorney recommended that the industry prepare and present its case. He said to the freight rate expert, "You go home," and so the responsibility of representing the Northwest Apple Industry fell to apple grower, Rotarian O. B. Shay. As soon as the decision was made to present a case, all the other apple growing districts of the Northwest sent telegrams authorizing Shay to also speak for their districts.

When Shay took the witness stand before the Interstate Commerce Commission early in February, 1922, to present the case he had prepared, he spoke for 53% of the 1921 commercial apple crop of the United States, which 53% of that crop brought the growers thereof f.o.b. shipping point about forty-five million dollars.

The effort was partially successful in that a reduction was made but not as much as was asked for. Where Shay had left Wenatchee expecting to be home in not more than ten days, he was gone from home just forty days.