Minutes of the Rotary Meeting
April 25, 2019
By Kathy Miller
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Ernest Ladd, President of the Rotary Club of Mobile, at 12:00 p.m.
Moment of Silence: Mr. Ladd announced that Tom Martenstein, a member of the Club since 1962, passed away on April 21. He served as President in 1979-80, as Club Secretary and was recently named the Club’s First Secretary Emeritus.
Song, Music, & Pledge: Peyton Mattei offered the invocation and Larry Sindel led the Club in song and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Guests: Jeff Zoghby introduced guests and visiting Rotarians.
Announcements: It was announced that the credit card payment system is in place. You can email Peg for a copy of your invoice with a link.
New Members: Kathy Miller introduced Blair Fisher, head of St. Paul’s Episcopal School as a new member.
Program: Claire McCarron introduced Meg McCrummen Fowler, Director of the History Museum of Mobile, who presented a program on “Notre Dame”. Ms. Fowler described the recent fire and the portions of the Cathedral that were damaged and those that were saved, including the three major rose windows. Ms. Fowler related the history of the building, including its original design to facilitate visiting pilgrims while mass was in progress. She talked about various additions to the Cathedral and prior renovations. She noted that, after the French Revolution, the Cathedral was ransacked and converted to a “temple of reason”. She discussed the interest in the Cathedral which occurred as a result of Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She pointed out that Notre Dame and the cathedrals in France are owned by the Government and not by the Catholic Church. She described the nineteenth century addition of the spire and additional sculptures and gargoyles and outlined the questions presented now about how the restoration as a result of the fire should be conducted. Claire thanked Ms. Fowler for speaking to the Club and presented her with a Speaker’s Certificate.
Adjournment: After announcing members’ birthdays and the program for next week, Claire adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m.
Kathy Miller
Contributing Editor