Archives show the challenges facing Kiwanis don’t change much over time

A dip into the archives of the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington shows that many of the same issues facing Kiwanis clubs today were the same 30, 40 and 50 years ago.

The Charlie Clark Center for Local History at Arlington Central Library holds much of the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington’s archives of the period from the 1970s to the early 2000s in the Arlington Community Archives. They were donated by longtime club member John Marr on behalf of the club.

Ten boxes of materials are stored, although one — contain bulkier items — currently has gone missing within the library system’s archival facility. Efforts are being made to find and reunite it with the other boxes.

Diving to the material provides a fun trip down memory lane. And the items contained within show challenges that would be familiar to modern-day Kiwanians.

Minutes from a meeting in 1972 noted that a number of members were having difficulty maintaining their attendance. That same set of minutes also reported on the cost of meals for club meetings, the recent international convention and activities at the Key Club of Wakefield High School.

Minutes of the board of directors meeting of Aug. 8, 1974 (the night before Richard Nixon resigned the presidency) reported on a discussion about ways to find new members in the 25-to-35-year-old age group. Does that sound familiar?

Minutes from the 1970s show a modest downturn in membership, another issue that continues to be a challenge for service clubs.

In September 1971, a report to Kiwanis International said membership was 29. By June 1974 is had declined to 27 and in September 1976 was down to 19. A challenging mid-1970s economy may have been one reason for the decline.

For those who remember when the club used to open its meetings tunefully, the archives contain number of “Songs of Kiwanis” booklets, providing the words for songs that had the stamp of approval from Kiwanis International.

While times change, the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington commitment to the community and youth never wavered.

There are letters in the archives from the club to local and even federal leaders, urging support for youth initiatives.

The club at one point sponsored a Builders Club at Drew Model School (now Dr. Charles Drew Elementary), and the archives include photos from the 1981 boys and girls Kiwanis soccer teams in the South Arlington Soccer League.

In the broader community, items in the archives show the club’s support for the Arlington Civic Symphony in the 1960s and its ongoing support of the Inter-Service Club Council over the decades.

The South Arlington Club is not the only service club whose archives are preserved for the future by the library system. Others include our sibling club, the Kiwanis Club of Arlington.

The earlier donation of South Arlington club materials may not be the last. More recent material collected by the late Harro Wulf may soon be added, giving future researchers and club members a deeper understanding of the organization’s history and the people who took part in its activities.