Lebanon Kiwanis Club History  

By: George H. Harding, Charter Member

In the fall of 1945 Mayor R.C. Ford moved to Lebanon to teach at Castle Heights Military Academy from Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, Tennessee. He had been a member of a Kiwanis Club in Columbia and was interested in joining a civic club in Lebanon. After several months of talking to Nashville and Murfreesboro Kiwanis Clubs the District Headquarters notified Nashville to help organize a Club in Lebanon.

Mayor R.C. (Ray) Ford and other civic minded community leaders joined together and organized The Kiwanis Club of Lebanon. District Governor Twyman Humphreys and other District Officers traveled to Lebanon and chartered our Club on January 9, 1946 in the old Lebanon High School (presently the Criminal Justice Center, Sheriff’s Department) on the northeast corner of East High Street and North Cumberland Street. Total number of charter members: fifty. Mayor R.C. Ford was our first President.

Our club started meeting in the Chamber of Commerce Dining Hall located on the southeast corner of Lebanon’s square (Old Arcade), east of Cuz’s Antique business at 6:30 p.m. After a few years, we changed our time to 12:00 Noon.

First project was the Easter Sunrise Service spearheaded by Alvin Hobson, a Kiwanis member and pastor of The First Baptist Church in Lebanon. We were the first to have a service and holding it at Castle Heights Military Academy. We have continued each year for sixty years without missing a year.

Our first fundraiser project was a Black Face Minstrel Show held in the auditorium at Castle Heights Military Academy. We continued for several years until the issue of discrimination was brought to our attention and we decided to discontinue, so we would not cause a problem in Lebanon. We used our funds to buy coal, pay water bills and help the poor.

Our first community project was to create the first City of Lebanon Planning Commission with the help and support of then Mayor Buchanan and City Council. The City of Lebanon was one of the first rural cities in the State of Tennessee to have a Planning Commission.

We wanted to help the youth of our community and we started the Kiwanis Little League in the spring season of 1955. We have continued for 53 years this season without missing a season. Both young boys and girls are playing.

We have had four KY-TN District Governors: Harvey Freeman, Pat Quiley, George H. Harding, and Eddie Callis with many Lt. Governors come from our Club. That speaks well for our Club.

Women were allowed to join the Kiwanis Club in 1987 during the Washington International Convention. In the first year 8,500 women joined. In our local Kiwanis our first woman President was Martha S. Bone in 1992-93. Serving as Lt. Governor’s for KY-TN District are Patricia Bone 1994-95 and Faye Dedman 2005-2006.

The Kiwanis Club of Lebanon remains a thriving organization of men and women that have dedicated 60 years to serving the children in our community that was started by the foresight of community minded leaders that realized the need in Lebanon. Many of the youth helped have grown in to community leaders, educators, businessmen, strong family leaders and political leaders.

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