The Rotary Club no. 657 (October 19, 1950)

A note of envy crept into the BALITA April 3, 1930. "Our summer is with us again," the paper notes. "Lucky are those us who work for the government, because fo a season they do not have to work in the heart of the day and can put in their afternoons playing golf. Oh my!" What dya mean, bud? Our government men don't take only the afternoons off. They take the whole day. The BALITA for September 22, 1932 carries a chiding note: "In the last issue of the BALITA there were two typographical errors, yet none of our members mentioned the fact. Now we wonder how many read this publication." Well, bud, a typographical error is one of those things everybody notices but does nothing about. The 331st issue of the organ of the Manila Rotary Club explains the meaning of "balita." Says an asterisk Tagalog word meaning "news." Any more questions from the class? The August 18, 1932 issue explains why Rotarians sing, to the eternal wonder of non-singers like Vincent del Fire: "Group singing is a social welder. That is, it pulls a group of participants quickly and easily into a spirit of oneness and fellowship. Any psychologist will tell you getting a group of individuals to do one thing at the same time all together has a welding influence." The same as a bottle of whisky. And speaking of Rotary singing, this item in the Sept. 8, 1932 BALITA deserves reprint, if only to encourage some Rotarians to keep their vocal chords in trim: "Harry Cranston figured in a near tragedy about two weeks, when the s.s. Misamis, on which he was a passenger, was wrecked on Calivite Point. In the panic that ensued, Harry remembered his Rotary training and started a song. Other passengers joined in, the panic ceased, and all lives were saved." All together now - sing! July 23, 1931 found Senator Hawes addressing the dub. He's the gentleman, you'll remember, who came here to sound out the Filipinos regarding their aspiration for independence, and before whom passed one of the longest parades ever seen in these parts.