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President's Message
Dear Rotarians,
Thank you, Julian, for inviting Nancy Gilbert of the U.S. Census Bureau to speak to us. Her talk was enlightening and she gave us many good reasons to complete the 2010 National Census as soon as it arrives in the mail.
Last Thursday evening I attended the meeting of the Haverhill School Committee where I officially announced Rotary's contribution of 720 thesauri to the 6th grade students in all the Haverhill public and private schools. Needless to say, the members of the School Committee expressed gratitude to Haverhill Rotary for the contribution of the thesauri and for the support that we have given to education in Haverhill over the years. I want to personally thank Chuck Marvin for procuring a district grant that paid for about half the cost. Thanks also to Cindy Ryan for once again organizing this effort. As soon as the thesauri arrive, Cindy will set a time to put the labels into the books and schedule a delivery day to the various schools in Haverhill. Keep tuned for further details!
I am writing this message in the middle of the Jewish festival of Chanukah (can also be spelled Hanukkah), which lasts for 8 days. Why 8 days? As is the case with most Jewish rituals, there is the reason that the Rabbis of old gave (meaning the Rabbis of about 2,000 years ago who wrote many of the laws) and then there is the real reason. The reason the Rabbis gave was that upon returning to Jerusalem to rededicate the Temple (Chanukah means "dedication") which had been defiled by the ancient Greek/Syrians, the Maccabees (a small Jewish army that conducted guerrilla warfare against the Greek/Syrians and won) found only enough oil to last one day to light the lamps in the Temple but miraculously the oil lasted 8 days, the number of days it would take to obtain more oil. The real reason that Chanukah is celebrated 8 days is that the Maccabees combined their cleansing and rededicating the Temple with their belated celebration of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot - the fall harvest festival which lasts 8 days and during which it was customary for the people to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festive celebration. Hence, the rededication of the Temple was celebrated for 8 days and the annual anniversary of the celebration was celebrated in the same way, for 8 days.
Like so many Jewish and Christian holidays, both Chanukah and Christmas have similar origins. Both Chanukah and Christmas celebrate a miracle, although two very different kinds of miracles. Both are "Festivals of Light," which originated in the practice of ancient pagans. Approaching the winter solstice and seeing that the number of hours of daylight were decreasing, the ancient pagans, living in the northern hemisphere, feared that the God of Light and the God of Darkness were engaged in a war and that the God of Darkness was winning the battle. The ancient pagans thus lit torches and bonfires in order to give the God of Light some strength to overcome the God of Darkness. And guess what? Every year it worked! Just after the winter solstice, daylight hours began to increase! Both Christmas and Chanukah are "festivals of Light" because it was customary for people to light torches and bonfires to give light for practical reasons and to strengthen the God of Light in his battle with the God of Darkness.
Whether we celebrate Christmas, Chanukah or the more recently established holiday of Kwanza, this time of the year brings us all joy and celebration. May this season be for us all, our loved ones and our community a holiday season filled with happiness, good health and, above all, peace.
Rotarily Yours,
Ira
Updating Records
Please take a moment to help us update our records. A copy of the MS Word document is available by clicking the following link: MEMBERSHIPDATA.doc.
Bring the form to out club meeting or email it to Bonita Michaleas our club secretary.
Salvation Army Kettle Drive
Saturday December 5th members of the HHS Interact Club helped Haverhill Rotary ring bells for the Salvation Army Kettle Drive. We collected nearly $2,000.00. Pictured above is HHS Interact club member Philip Sasso-Flanagan and Ann Schramm club president who rang the bell at Market Basket at RiversEdge Plaza.
Winter Weather Policy
Please remember the Haverhill Rotary winter weather policy:
If the Haverhill Public Schools are cancelled due to inclement winter weather, there will be no Rotary meeting that day. Also, if there is an early dismissal, there will be no Rotary meeting that day.
If there is a delayed opening of the Haverhill Public Schools, there will be a Rotary meeting at the regular time, at 12:15 PM.
Welcome our newest member: Eric Suess Remember to sign his book and introduce yourself to Eric.
Comedy Night A comedy night is being planned for Friday February 12th.
Tickets are $25.00 per person and includes hors d'oeuvres. A limited menu from the Phoenician Restaurant will be also available for purchase. Doors open at 7:30 PM. Show starts at 9:00 PM. If you have any questions contact Steven Goddu.
Tell your friends to save the date. A flyer is available at http://www.godduprinting.com/Nairator/RotaryComedyNight.jpg. Attach the flyer to an email or copy the link into your email for them to view. Also you can visit the web site for our featured comedian Juston McKinney
District News
Download a copy of our district newsletter and keep up with what's going on. There are two conferences within driving distance of us that booth look interesting. The district conference will be at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine and the international conference will be in Montreal, Canada. Both great places to visit while experiencing Rotary outside the borders of Haverhill. Details are in the newsletter.
Tall Pole
In my earlier years at the telephone company I did installation work.
When construction of the interstate highway system was beginning I was sent to Georgetown, Massachusetts to the area where land was being cleared for the project. There I met a representative of the contractor.
They had moved in a temporary office adjacent to the proposed highway. There were no other buildings nearby.
A pole had been placed near the office building. It was the tallest pole that I had ever seen. He asked that when I put up the telephone line that I install it near the top of this pole as clearance for large machinery would be needed. Then he left.
Nothing there but the temporary building, me, and this tall pole.
I was going to have strap onto my legs pole climbers. They had little points at the bottom that would dig into the pole as I climbed.
There is a God. He got me up that pole, helped to connect the wire, and got me down safely. Whew.
I wonder if Fred met Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor on his way up the pole.
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