50 years of service: Kiwanis have history of making a difference in Silverton

By Brenna Wiegand

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Silverton Kiwanis Club honored its two living charter members by making them grand marshals of the Pet Parade last May. Orville Roth brought “TLC,” his “favorite bear who likes to throw candy to kids.” Beside him, Warren Levecke carried a photo of “Peaches” in his pocket. His loving lapdog had died the year before.

With Orville’s passing Oct. 13, 2013, Warren Levecke, 89, says he’s “the last of the Mohicans.”

Sometimes the Mohicans had to fight to survive; at other times they were rescued.

“Around 1970, the Kiwanis Club was kind of at a low ebb,” Levecke said. “I think we had 16, 17 members and you’re supposed to have, I believe, 25 to retain a charter. That was about the time when the Elks and the Kiwanians and all the other organizations were fighting – the women wanted to come in.”

Often composed of club members’ wives, adjunct groups like the Kiwaniannes and the Elkettes served an auxiliary function but were excluded from general membership.

“Well, the women starting coming – and the Kiwanis was really reborn,” Levecke said. “The women were really wildfires – they were hard workers.” Membership nearly doubled and their charter was secure.

“They just sort of took over, which is good, because we were in pretty bad shape there for a while,” Levecke said.

Judy Schmidt was one of those pioneers and is thankful there were so many supportive men, paving the way for a relatively smooth merger.

“Now we have a real cross section – retired people; working people; various walks of life and ages – even some just out of high school,” Schmidt said, “and the ratio of men to women is just about even.”

Overarching all the kid-centered projects undertaken at the local level is Kiwanis International’s Worldwide Service Project.

“Internationally, Kiwanis sets a major focus – for the most part, centered on children – that clubs all over the world embrace,” Schmidt said. “In my day, it was wiping out Iodine Deficiency Disorder.”

Kiwanis and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) joined forces to tackle iodine deficiency disorders, achieving one of the most significant public health successes of the 20th century.

Partnering once more with UNICEF, the Eliminate Project is out to wipe maternal-neonatal tetanus from the face of the Earth. It’s not a yearly focus; the global mission continues until they’ve done all they can to eradicate the life-threatening disease.

Schmidt loves the Terrific Kids character development program and is pleased that Kiwanis was able to furnish some new decorations for the city sidewalks.

“We are a hands-on group and need to raise money for all the projects we do,” Wayne Suggs said. “We work really hard at Oktoberfest; it’s neat to have a such a vehicle that enables us to help in so many ways.” He has been a Kiwanis member wherever he’s lived over the past 35 years, but Silverton stands out.

“I am continually amazed at the amount of work and projects they get involved in and the amount of time people are willing to spend,” Sugg said. “We’re one of the few clubs that continues to grow while all over the world numbers are declining. We went over our target of 50 members by our 50th anniversary.

“The project I enjoy the most is the Pet Parade – it’s just such a fun event,” said Silverton Kiwanis Club President Randal Thomas. “The Letters to Santa project is a lot of fun, too. The mailbox is open year-round at the Santa mural at Town Square Park – the main thing about that is remembering to put a return address on your letter.”

Every year, Kiwanis members finance two weeks of swim lessons and water safety instruction for all Eugene Field School third graders. Last May, they served 131 children in their attempt to chip away at the grim statistics – 70 percent of all fourth grade students can’t swim, and the majority of child drownings take place within three feet of safety.

As a freshman, Macy Mulholland found herself in over her head when she was made president of Silverton High School’s Key Club, sponsored by Kiwanis. Having no idea what she was doing or how the four-member club should go about doing it, she showed up at a Kiwanis Club meeting, where she found a ready ear in Tim Yount.

“His taking his time with me was the first thing I really noticed,” she said. “I’ve learned to always take the time to listen to people.”

Now in her fourth year in office, Mulholland not only knows what she’s doing; she has a 40-member army behind her to see it gets done.

“That has a lot to do with the support we get from our high school advisor Megan Miller,” Mulholland, now a senior said. “She’s fantabulous and brings an energy that helps all the students get involved.”

Having raised $501 trick-or-treating for UNICEF, the club is helping Silverton Together furnish gifts and decorate Christmas trees to families in need while simultaneously “Caroling for Convention.”

“Finding that one thing you’re passionate about is what it takes to keep that positivity through high school,” Mulholland said, “and mine is service to the community.”

And that’s what being a Kiwanis member is all about. Afterall, Kiwanis self described mission is “a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”