I’ll bet most Arcadia Rotarians didn’t know that our club, back in the day, was almost solely responsible for the founding of the Methodist Hospital of Southern California.   Endless hours of planning, campaigning and fund raising by Rotarians in the late 50’s resulted in the construction of the hospital.  Our speaker, Michael D. Driebe, President of the Methodist Hospital Foundation brought with him a wealth of information gathered by him from older Rotarians history and archives related to the founding of the hospital.

The hospital originally grew from humble beginnings as far back as 1903 when a group of Methodist Deaconesses saw a need in Los Angeles and worked with the Women’s Home Missionary Society to acquire a two-story home and outfitted it with five beds.  Six years later a site was purchased for a permanent hospital that was made of reinforced concrete; the first major hospital in Los Angeles.  After World War II a foundation was formed headed by Walter Hoefflin, Jr., who began the search for a new location.  In 1953 he notice a newspaper article that said the City of Arcadia had purchased 22.5 acres for a hospital site with plans for an organization to build and operate it.  The City of Arcadia had levied a 10-cent tax on admissions at the racetrack back in 1947 to build a local hospital, and funds had accumulated to $232,000 by 1950.  By 1952 the land was purchased for $198000.  That land purchase was a direct result of a meeting of the Arcadia Rotary Club board of directors.  Men like Mick Michler, Ted Mc Bane, Al Perkins, and our beloved Bill Dorsett would spread the word to other clubs, and anyone who would listen to raise funds to help.  The hospital opened with 138 beds with the help of the hard work and donations of Rotarians from all over the San Gabriel Valley, the federal aid program and the Ford Foundation.

Walter Hoefflin became a member of our club in 1958, as were Paul Johenk, Jimmy Chinn, M.D., and every administrator since then.  Let’s not forget our own Julian Love, M.D. who served as the Chief of Staff at the hospital, Tom Miles, M.D., and Butch Chinn, M.D. and numerous others who have served or gifted to the hospital.

Do you remember the Rotary slogan “Service Above Self”?  That is exactly what so many have done representing “The Greatest Rotary Club in the World”!

Pat Dolphin