Los Banos Rotary Club History
Rotarians Initiate New Meeting Place

It was the good fortune of the Los Banos Rotary Club to initiate the new community recreation hall to Recreation Park Tuesday. The club, which will hold their meetings at the new hall regularly, is the first to take advantage of the new facilities, which were completed only last week. Official dedication of the new hall is planned for Sunday afternoon, December 14.

Appropriately two members of the county board of supervisors were present for the informal opening. Supervisorial chairman Harry Schmidt of Gustine spoke briefly to express his approval of the new facilities and compliment B. A. Wilson and Supervisor J. L. Toscano, local members of the Merced County Recreation Commission who were in large measure responsible for securing the new hall for this community. Schmidt pointed out that Merced County is far ahead of most counties in the matter of recreational facilities and programs. He said the program in this county apparently is receiving public approval, because, he declared, "Recreation is the one item in the Merced county budget of which the people are not critical."

Supervisor Joe Sharmer of Planada, who is soon to retire from the board, also expressed his approval of the project and commended the community on their progressiveness. He pointed out that this building and recreational facilities throughout the county, including Merced's large swimming pool, was made possible through the county-levied 10 cents capital outlay tax assessment. There are only four other counties in the state, he said, that have endeavored to provide recreational facilities on a countywide level.
Sharmer warned his listeners that if they want this program continued they must be ever vigilant as there are people in the county who feel that the program, should be discontinued and are already exerting considerable pressure on the supervisors to discontinue this tax.

The Merced county district attorney, Don Mayes, was also a dinner guest at the luncheon, but confined his remarks to the telling of one joke.
Supervisor J. L. Toscano, who had personally invited the supervisors to attend, was himself absent. His car broke down near the river bridge as he was enroute from Merced, and he arrived home, in the rear end of the Kaljian tow car, an hour or so after the luncheon was concluded.

City administration officer Mike Dambrosio, who was program chairman for the day, expressed the community's appreciation to the supervisors for their cooperation and support, and complimented their progressive attitude relative to recreational programs. Dambrosio emphasized the value of the facilities to the Los Banos community and expressed the hope that the supervisors would see fit to provide similar facilities in other communities of the county.
Dambrosio also announced that official dedication ceremonies of the new Recreation Hall will be held Sunday afternoon, Dec. 14, and urged that all members of the Rotary Club be in attendance.

December 5, 1952

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