The Westbrook-Gorham Rotary has always been a part of Dave Rolfe’s life. When Rolfe was a kid, his uncle served as a district governor — supporting the activities of all the Rotary clubs in the area — and he would bring back trinkets for Rolfe to play with from every Rotary club he visited. Rolfe also grew up hanging out with the exchange students his uncle hosted through the Rotary.

One of the oldest members of the club, Rolfe has been officially part of the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary since the late 1970s. He was president of the club for its 75th anniversary, and on April 9, Rolfe celebrated the club’s 100th anniversary alongside many of the club’s 38 members at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center.

The club has changed since its inception, and even since Rolfe first joined.

As a club of Rotary International — a global service organization — it was originally founded as the Westbrook Rotary Club in March 1926.

It began Christmas Eve morning in 1925 when a group of 15 prominent businessmen in the community gathered at the Westbrook Tavern — where the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church is located today — to discuss forming a luncheon club, Christine Johnson, the club’s secretary, said. In March the following year, the club was officially established, and in April, the club held a charter banquet — quite a fancy event with many courses, a band and dancing, Johnson said — which cost a total of $2.50.

The club was renamed the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary in 1990.

Women weren’t allowed to officially join Rotary clubs until 1989, Johnson said. One of the first women Rolfe remembers at the club was a Rotarian’s daughter who played the piano during the meetings. Although her father was opposed to allowing women to join the club, Rolfe said, she became the first female member of the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary and later the president of the club.

The Rotary used to have a classification system that allowed only one member per profession, to avoid having too many people of any particular profession in the club. After Steve Rand, an attorney and member of the club, joined in the ‘90s, no other attorneys were allowed to join. They can now, although Rand happens to still be the only attorney, he said.

The club is more open and inviting now, Rand said. It is also less strict about attendance, so people can still participate even if they have some conflicts during the club’s 11:30 a.m. weekly meeting at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center on Tuesdays.

One of Rand’s favorite projects he’s been involved with is the Rotary House Project, a collaboration with the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center and the city of Westbrook. Since 1958, high school students involved in the building trades program at the vocational center can get practical construction experience by building a house.

The Rotary also provides scholarships and awards to students, helps out with the Locker Project addressing food insecurity, sponsors exchange students, donates books to the Baxter Memorial Library and Walker Memorial Library and supports veterans, among other projects.

The club’s annual golf tournament in September is its biggest fundraiser, Johnson said, helping fund a lot of its service projects. The Rotary is also involved in international projects, such as helping provide clean water to several communities in Guatemala.