Happy Birthday Rotary!

The Rotary Club is 100-years old today.

To commemorate its anniversary, each chapter undertook a centennial project.

The Sonora Sunrise chose to rebuild the historic Mark Twain cabin near Tuttletown and unveiled the cabin at a well attended ceremony this morning. The project was spearheaded by Rotarian Jerry Kahl. Kahl says scores of volunteers spent over 2 years working on the project, largely with materials donated by community members and fellow Rotarians.

“SPI donated logs and lumber, High Country Pest Control donated their services, Jim Armstrong produced the shakes for us.”

Kahl also credits Tuolumne County with providing vital support and with working closely with the group to help it overcome regulatory challenges. Board of Supervisors Chairman Paulo Maffei presented the Rotary with a plaque to honor their anniversary and the completion of the historic replica.

“I think this is wonderful. I think it´s an admirable project and I hope that it will be visited by lots of tourists.”

County Counsel Gregory Oliver is also a Rotarian and played a key role in helping to keep the effort on track. Oliver says he worked closely with Kahl and a variety of volunteers through the project´s sometimes arduous journey to completion.

“Many Rotarians in our club donated time and money to put the cabin back together.”

An actor portraying Clemens regaled the crowd at the ceremony with stories stemming from Clemens´ time at the cabin site. The total cost of the project was about $5,000. The cabin is a replica of another replica that was built on the site in 1922. Mark Twain allegedly stayed in the original cabin during the winter of 1865-66.