• The Kiwanis Story
• The Kiwanis Club of Chatham
• Charter Members of 1931
• Past Presidents
• Roster of early 1950, illustrated with photos.

Kiwanis was founded in Detroit, Michigan on January 21, 1915.

The original name was "The Benevolent Order of Brothers," and its purpose was the mutual exchange of preferred treatment in professional and business dealings.

Within a year, the name had changed to Kiwanis, taken from an Indian term "Nun Keewanis", which roughly means "We have a good time - we make noise" or "Self Expression". It had also become obvious that the original purpose lacked the power to attract and hold members. The purpose of the organization thus became "community service," a concept from which Kiwanis has never deviated.

In 1916 a Kiwanis Club was chartered in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and Kiwanis became "international". In 1962 a Kiwanis chapter was established in Mexico. International extension has continued since that time, and today, more than 600,000 male and female members of the Kiwanis family in over 71 countries make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues.

The Kiwanis Club of Chatham was affiliated on September 9^th, 1930 and became chartered in 1931. In the fifties the club met every Tuesday at 6.15pm in the William Pitt Hotel, where now the Downtown City Mall is located.