History:

Three days before Armistice Day in 1918 the Hornell Rotary Club was formed. A trainload of 75 men from Elmira pulled into the Hornell depot, debarked and walked to the YMCA, where they inducted 60 Hornellians into the fledgling Hornell Rotary Club. It was a day of song and speeches, but Hornell Rotary's birth was overshadowed. For on that day a spasm of premature celebration shot through the Canisteo Valley as a rumor spread that World War I had ended. Cannons were fired and people literally danced in the streets of Hornell, Canisteo and other communities-mistakenly, it turned out. The Kaiser would not flee Germany; the shelling would not stop for three more days. It was an auspicious beginning.

George Robbins was the first club president. There was a band from the Shattuck Opera House and Ray Page lead the singing.

In 1921 the Hornell Club chartered the Wellsville Rotary Club and in 1925 we chartered the Canisteo Rotary Club. In November 1928, celebrating ten years, tickets for a banquet and music were $2.50. In the 1933-34 year Harold Ranger presented a program on his trip to Mexico. He was the first Harold Ranger in our club, the father of long time 50-year member Harold Ranger, Jr. Tickets for the Rochester Inner City Dinner were $1.50. During 1933 at a Rotary Club meeting at the Hotel Sherwood there was a program featuring two live lions. The club members had a group picture to memorialize the event.

For several years a weekly letter was issued and mailed out to all the members. During the depression it was discontinued. In 1938 the club felt a need for a weekly bulletin and the first issue of The Hub was published April 1, 1938. Some members felt it was an appropriate date. Some gleanings from the bulletin, J. N. Norwood was club president and you could sign up for the Rotary International Convention in San Francisco. You would go by train leaving June 12 and returning July 4. Several members did go. Also Robert A. Sweeney and Sandy Davidson were Junior Rotarians.

During World War II the Alfred contingent held their meetings in Alfred because of the gas shortage. This was approved by Rotary International.

Our club has had three District Governors, J.N. Norwood in 1945-46, Milo Van Hall in 1975-76 and Robert Gaffney in 1999-2000. We have had three members who have been club president more than one year, George Robbins, Ken Isaman and Joe Damrath. Over the years the club has been instrumental in starting many projects and funding many others. In the 1920's we provided money and manual labor to help develop the City of Hornell playgrounds. A big project was establishing a Fresh Air camp on the Richtmeyer property, which is now part of the Almond Dam. We have been involved with Camp Star since its inception. One of our major fundraising projects has been Radio Day on WLEA for over 30 years. For the past twenty years we have sponsored a multi-phasic Blood Testing program for the community. Some organizations that we have supported over the years are the United Way, YMCA, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Boy and Girls Scouts, Camp Fire program, Little League, Cinderella Softball, Dare program, Hornell Public Library, Arkport softball and baseball, Children's Home, Arts Council, Interfaith Volunteers and many more.

Since 1982-83 we have been involved in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Our first student was John Smith from Australia. In 1983 Traci McGrosso was our first Ambassadorial Scholar.

Since the early 1990's we have had an annual musical starting with Annie. We have had Monte Carlo nights, concerts, art auctions, worked at the Corning LPGA and at many other fund raising projects to help support our projects throughout the community and world. Some of the projects were building handicapped ramps, buying a computer for a student with cerebral palsy, supplying children with wheelchairs and beds, providing a picnic and entertainment at the Hornell Nursing Home, Adopt a Highway, painting rooms at the Salvation Army building, donating $7,500 to the Hornell Public Library at our 75th Anniversary celebration, organizing an evening with the Canisteo Rotary Club at Camp Star and along with Canisteo Rotary have had a Rural-Urban Day for area farmers. These are just a few of the many projects we have done over the years.

In 1999-2000 we had our first Rotary International Matching Grant project with the Rotary Club of Junagadh in District 3060 in India. It was providing materials for the blind in their community. We have raised monies since 1985 for Polio Plus to help eradicate polio in the world by the year 2005.