The Excelsior Rotary Club - News and Presentations on Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Club News: Our lasts update on Tad Shaw came from his daughter Laura Shaw and she said,” You’re so kind and good to think of him. He is still hanging in there but continuing to fade. He is still totally with it. My sister and I helped him give our mother an arrangement with shamrock plants. His idea and it was very sweet. Hospice continues to be mystified by him. Thanks for all your prayers.”
The Future of the Excelsior Rotary Club: Part two of our club meeting on March 5th was an update of the meeting held with Excelsior Morning Club President Mark Jeter, President Randy Schumacher and Nick Ruehl. The exchange of thoughts and ideas were discussed and both clubs not to make this a “we/they” discussion with mutual respect for club’s organization, identities and current load of club activities. President Deters recommended preliminarily that our club resign our charter; members of our club are welcomed to join the morning club; our STRIVE and Book Program continuation would be referred to their respective committees; that the noon clubs funds be dispersed and donated to charities.
The next steps are to have the two respective club’s committees meet and discuss if there is an interest to carry on STRIVE and the Book programs. Rand and Nick are working on the technicalities of resigning our charter, how to disperse the funds of the club and foundation, and other details. The next Board of the club will decide on a recommended action and timeline. The Board will also come up with a plan to culminate our 75 year history as the Rotary Club of Excelsior and celebration!
STRIVE: The next meeting will be on Thursday, March 21st at 9:55 with Randy Schumacher presenting Financial Management and Planning.
Our Program on Tuesday, March 5th was two parts with Scott McGinnis giving us a presentation on the Early Days of Excelsior and the Nick Ruehl updating the club on the discussion with the Excelsior Morning Club of our merger proposals and their impressions about it and their club’s recommendations.
Scott McGinnis is the President of the Minnetonka Historical Society and gave us a very personal look of the origins of Excelsior and also contrasted pictorially between then and now. He started by show the original map of the area and noted that there were some 2,500 burial mounds in this sacred area. 
In 1852 McGraff founded the Excelsior Pioneer Association to bring people the area and by 1853 the community was growing. In that same year George Galpin became a prominent figure in the community and was an amazing entrepreneur wearing many hats in the settlement. Scott show one of the first dwellings (really a shack) owned by McGraff.
In 1852 McGraff founded the Excelsior Pioneer Association to bring people the area and by 1853 the community was growing. In that same year George Galpin became a prominent figure in the community and was an amazing entrepreneur wearing many hats in the settlement. Scott show one of the first dwellings (really a shack) owned by McGraff. By 1855 homes were being built and a map of that time showed the Bennett’s home of Murry Hill and today’s Murry Hill Road exists. The early homes were of log construction and the required size was 25’x15’ minimum to live in that development as set by Peter Gideon on February 22, 1855 with all kinds of restrictions. Excelsior was growing rapidly and even had its own Excelsior enterprise Newspaper. Of course in 1856 land speculator were buy up property to divide into lots to develop and often clear cut the lots to sell the lumber and there were several lumber mills in Excelsior. Also Maple sugar was a big crop. By 1854 Excelsior Township was formed and Gideon even had a crude stage running weekly to town.
Scott ended by show by showing locations, famous homes, streets from the past and what is there today. It was amazing!!