Bells in Rotary

 

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW:  ROTARY BELLS

Many Rotary clubs ring a bell (or gong) to call a meeting to order or to adjourn a meeting.

Both bells and gavels have a long association with Robert’s Rules of Order, the definitive manual of parliamentary procedure in North America. Early Rotary leaders adopted Robert’s Rules as a way to govern meetings. This was replaced in the 1970s by the “rule of basic fairness”1 but many clubs had become so accustomed to the practice that the tradition continued.

1 The Rotarian, July 1979: p. 26.

2 The Rotarian, March 1915: p. 77.

3 The Rotarian, December 1919: p. 304.

4 The Rotarian, September 1922: p. 139.

5 The Rotarian, May 1923: p. 316.

6 The Rotarian, December 1923: p. 61 (ad for Geo. E. Fern). See also The Rotarian, August 1925: p. 59 for a Russell-Hampton Co. ad; and The Rotarian, January 1923: p. 53 for a Gorham Company ad.

7 The Rotarian, October 2002: page 52. Note: Issues of The Rotarian cited here can be viewed on Google Books

To date, Rotary History and Archives has not identified action by the Board of Directors or Council on Legislation mandating that clubs use a bell or gavel in their meeting procedures. However, there are many reports in The Rotarian of clubs using bells and this practice became more popular as the custom was promoted.

One of the earliest published stories about using a bell at a Rotary meeting is from a 1915 Ladies’ Night meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. A sign commanded attendants “sit down when the bell rings.”2 By 1919, the Kansas City club had acquired a large bell which they referred to as “the Gavel,” which was fashioned out of a horse-drawn streetcar gong and run with a large wooden mallet (made from the wood of a German bayonet)3.

In 1922, the Rotary Club of London presented a bell to the Rotary Club of New York City; the bell was a prize over a long-running attendance contest between the two clubs.4 And the Shelbyville, Illinois club substituted a dinner bell for a gavel in a meeting run by the wives of Rotary members. According to an article in The Rotarian, Mrs. John D. Miller presided, announcing “When this bell rings that means everyone pays attention to the chairman.”5

In December 1923, a decorative bell was advertised in The Rotarian for use by clubs. Called the Rotary Bell No. 29, this bell was marketed for use at Rotary meetings, as “A unique table ornament, a sight prettier and infinitely more agreeable than the harsh gavel. It has a clear, rich note that makes itself heard above the din of cheerful voices.”6

Much of Rotary’s rich history informs today’s practices. Many traditions, while never officially mandated or sanctioned, are such a part of current Rotary culture that many Rotarians could not imagine their Rotary experience without these long-standing practices.

With this tradition in mind, Rotary International marked its centennial with five bells that traveled the world in 2003-2005. One bell traveled to the first 100 clubs to join Rotary International, while the others went to the first Rotary club formed in each country of four regions: Asia and the Pacific; Latin American and the Caribbean; Africa; and Europe and the Middle East. All five bells returned to Chicago to call the 2005 convention to order. 7

The Rotarian began in 1911, and was published by what was then known as the National Association of Rotary Clubs of America. No active issue copyright renewals exist for this serial, but some contributions from 1933 onward were renewed. It is still published today.

 

1981-82 World Understanding and
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