Contributed
The Central Voice (Central NF)
When Philip (Den) Billard of Labrador came to live and work in Botwood in 1973, he brought along his Kinsmen Club roots.
He convinced some young men in the town to get involved and form a club. When the Kinsmen Club of Botwood began with 39 members on Jan. 22, 1974, Billard was its first president.
The next year, the Botwood Kinsmen established a clubhouse in a hall rented from the local paper workers union and began to fulfill its motto: "Serving the Community's Greatest Need".
Today, the Kinsmen Club of Botwood is one of the top clubs in Canada. It has 46 members, seven of which are charter members.
Over the years, traditions and projects started by the club are ongoing to this day.
The annual Christmas senior dinner and dance, for instance, sees an average 200 participants enjoy a meal at the legion followed by dancing, door prizes, and a visit from Santa in the adjacent Kin centre.
Some of the club's early projects include support for a beeper system for the Botwood Fire Department, construction of the St. John Ambulance building, and a joint project with the Botwood Lions Club to purchase a PA system for the Botwood arena.
The Botwood Kinsmen Club held a founder's night celebration on Feb. 15 with many special guests from the community and all levels of government attending.
The club presented a framed mock cheque for $3,055,000 to Botwood Mayor Scott Sceviour, representing contributions the club has
made to Botwood and throughout the central region in its 46 years.
The Kin movement was founded in 1920 by Harold (Hal) Rogers, who formed the Kinsmen Club of Hamilton. He wanted a men’s club to share the camaraderie he had experienced while in the army.
He tried to join the local Rotary club where his father was a member but was rejected since he worked in his father's profession. A once fundamental rule of the Rotarians was to only have
one member from each employment classification.
Instead, Rogers formed his own club, starting an organization which marks 100 years with more than 400 clubs today.
Rogers was made an order of the British Empire for his efforts as the chairman of a project to supply British children with powdered milk during the Second World War. By the end of the Milk for Britain campaign the Kin family raised $3 million and sent 50 million quarts of milk to Britain.
