SEBRING DOWNTOWN BREAKFAST KIWANIS CLUB 1983-93
1983
Sometime in 1983 I ran into an old acquaintance, Hal Keyes. Hal worked as a clerk for my father, Bill Sager, at his Western Auto franchise store in Sebring in 1964-66. He was a little older than my father, and was originally from Miami. He and his wife and daughter, Cindy, lived in Sebring Hills not too far from my Llewellyn grandparents’ winter home on Dove Avenue. Hal and his family built their home while they camped in a tent in Highlands Hammock. He gave us their old 1950’s Sears Roebuck canvas tent, complete with the original box. It was a very large cabin style tent with floor, screened windows and an attached screened room and had large diameter aluminum pole framing and tie-offs. Clearly they kept very good care of it.
Eli with our hand-me-down tent in our back yard on Fernvale Ave., June 1986.
We camped in that tent for many years into the mid 1990’s and took it as far as North Carolina to the Asheville area and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It took two of us to lift it out of the trunk. Thankfully our big Cadillac trunk could accommodate it.
Anyway, Hal Keyes invited me very forcefully to join a new breakfast Kiwanis Club that was starting in downtown Sebring. Back then there was a restaurant on N. Ridgewood Drive called the Lunch Box where Gilbert Drugs was in the 1960’s owned and operated by Fred Nugent. Fred had been a regional manager of United Telephone before retiring and owning the restaurant. I visited once and soon joined them. Back in those days Kiwanis was exclusively for men. It was a service organization and their focus was on children. We supported high school programs called Key Club and Keyettes (for girls), and some scholarships. It was very similar to Rotary, which also had a club in town.
We would meet at 6:30 a.m. and have breakfast together, so it was good for Fred’s business. We lived only about one mile away so it didn’t take any time to get there. We opened with the pledge of allegiance to our flag, and prayer, and had a meeting chairman who lined up speakers. We had some interesting ones. I remember one who was the pilot of the Presidential helicopter for some of his career. We had officers and I served over those years as secretary, vice president and president. For one year I served as spiritual leader, I forget the exact title. Another term I served as meeting chairman. Once I asked the local Lutheran (Missouri Synod) minister to share about the Protestant Reformation at the end of October. We had several Roman Catholic members, so I hoped it would be a blessing. There were dues and fines for silly things to raise money. We hosted a fishing tournament once on Lake Istokpoga to raise funds. Several times we had field trips. Once we were able to visit the U.S. Air Force bombing range in Avon Park. We were allowed to climb up in the spotting tower while a fighter jet, I think an F-16, came over from McDill AFB in Tampa and came so close to us we could see the pilot through his domed top. They had targets laid out on the ground and sensors that detected where their virtual bombs hit. Another time we toured the brand new Philips Power Plant and were allowed to see the huge diesel engines that ran the huge turbines.
Most of the members were much older than I was. Two of them had daughters in my high school class - Ferrell Smith and Leon Tolar. Ferrell was Dr. Smith, and served our county school system for many years in various capacities. He remembered when the administration offices were on the third floor of the main courthouse! Leon Tolar was the local Farm Bureau agent. The two of them were best friends. George Smith was from Lorida and was very quiet and solid Christian, a member of First Baptist in Sebring. Darrell Smith who owned Frames and Images was in our club. Lots of Smith members! Lon Worth Crow the attorney was a member, too. Pastor Jay McCall of Sebring First Baptist Church was a very pleasant man and a neighbor of ours. Bill Champion had worked for United Telephone with Fred Nugent. Jim Ruley had an old folks home. Bruce Lybarger was a local CPA (and still is). Mike Avert was the county school board finance director. Circuit Court Judge Olin Shinholser was in our club, although at that time he worked in the state's attorney office as a prosecutor. His office was down the hall from mine in the courthouse annex, so I got to know him then. Our city Police chief Bob Baker was a member and Fire Chief Eddie Deloach for awhile. We also had the staff attorney for the County Sheriff's Office, 'Smokey' Stover. He was a very witty man and we always enjoyed his conversation and stories. He worked to send his son to law school and then went himself and passed the bar exam! He was a pretty remarkable man. Mason Whidden, a coach and teacher in Sebring High School, was a member. I am pretty sure that Tyrell Morris, a local funeral director, was also a member, and John Clark later on, Fred Nugent's son-in-law. Dave Henderson was a banker with Barnett Bank, later Bank of America in Sebring at their main office in our downtown area. There were men from various backgrounds and walks of life. It was an opportunity to get to know people I otherwise would not have.
There were lots of forms to fill out, and records to keep. I had a pin for my lapel and a paper weight after serving as president one year. Other than those momentos I have my memories.
After ten years the club opened to female members and the entire atmosphere of the club changed. Times changed. Peg Whitehead and Fred Nugent’s wife Judy joined and some others. They were nice people, but the camaraderie among men was gone, and I missed it. Since I was pastor of our church and worked full time and we still had children at home and schooled them I decided it was a good time to conclude my time with Kiwanis. I appreciated the contacts and opportunity to get to know some men in our community. I did not realize until later that my grandfather, William Henry Sager, was a member of Kiwanis, too. My father joined the Lion’s Club when he had the Western Auto store and also the Toastmasters Club. But as far as service clubs, that time in Kiwanis was my only experience and it was good to have been part of it back then.
