1. Downtown Optimist Club
A periodic newsletter of the
A periodic newsletter of the
St. Petersburg -- Downtown Optimist Club
St. Petersburg Downtown Optimist Club
North Florida District, Zone 9, Club #60447
North Florida District, Zone 9, Club #60447
January 1, 2011
Editor: Sharon Dennany, telephone 919-274-1311 or email: skdennany@gmail.com
Scott Kaplan – President
7360 Ulmerton Rd. #21D, Largo, FL 33771
Zone 9 Lt. Governor – Jean Rutan
North Florida District Governor – Daniel Rich
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and best wishes
for a Happy New Year. It’s hard to believe that it is 2011!
Remember the Y2K computer problem back in 2000? Eleven years
later and technology has just gone crazy…iPads, camera phones,
Skype, laptops, high definition television. It’s mind boggling!!

2. Origin of New Year
New Year is the world's most popularly celebrated festival. Perhaps,
everybody would like to know how these celebrations began, from
where it originated and what is so important about the festival. Let's
give you an insight to the origin of this grand event in a brief form.
Ancient New Year Calendar
Origin of New Year dates back to the era of emperors. They thought
of celebrating a special day which should dot a day for beginning and
end of the year. First New Year celebrations were noticed in
Mesopotamia around 2000 years. It was celebrated at the time of
Equinox in mid-March by the Egyptians, Persians and Phoenicians
while Greeks celebrated it on winter solstice.
As per the ancient Roman calendar New Year fell on March 1. This
calendar just had ten months and March was the first month of the
year. The calendar originated by the cycles of the moon, beginning in
spring and ending with autumn planting.
Inclusion of Two Calendar Months
It was Numa Pompilius, the second king of
Rome who divided the year into twelve lunar
months by adding the months of January and
February. The New Year was shifted to
January as it marked the beginning of the civil
years in Rome. But this was not fully accepted by the people of
Rome and they continued celebrating in the month of March only.
January 1- an Official Date of New Year Celebrations
The Roman emperor Julius Caesar officially declared January 1 to be
a New Year in 46 B.C. Romans worshiped God Janus who had two
faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. The
month of January was named after this Roman God and it gave an
idea to the emperor to establish January as a gate to the New Year.
It is said Caesar celebrated January 1 - New Year by ordering the
revolutionary Jewish forces to route back.

3. People began New Year celebrations on January 1 after many years.
They ritualized the beginning of the year by acting and re-enacting
the world of the past before peace proliferated. People learned
January as the first month of the year and with this the tradition of
following Julian calendar.
Abolition of Roman New Year Date
In the medieval period, pagan festivals were given more importance
and March 25 was announced as the beginning of the New Year.
March 25 was called the Annunciation Day as on this day Mary got
the news that she should be impregnated.
Later, the King of England ensured that Jesus' birth December 25
should be commemorated as New Year.
Gregorian Calendar
About 500 years later, Pope Gregory XIII abolished the old Julian
calendar and introduced Gregorian calendar which comprised of a
leap year after every four years to maintain balance between
seasons and calendar. Finally, in 1582, Gregorian calendar was set
to celebrate New Year on the first day of January.
Source: http://www.newyearfestival.com/origin-of-new-year.html
It’
It’s My
Birthday! It’s My
It’
Anniversary!
Belated December 7
Elaine Mullen Belated December 13
Vikki Pena
Belated December 13
Jean Rutan January 26
Bob Costa
January 10
Jane Ridings January 31
Sharon Dennany
January 24
Paul Brett

4. Zone 9 Christmas Dinner was on December 21, 2010 at Gig’s
Italian Restaurant in Pasadena. A number of clubs were there to
enjoy the festivities and camaraderie. Downtown Club members who
attended were Jean Rutan, Gardner and Moonie Harshman, Jane
and Jim Ridings, Betty Ralston, Elaine Mullen, Scott Kaplan, Judy
and Lee Warnock and myself. Rick Rutan and Vi Hayworth was
feeling under the weather and were not able to attend. If I overlooked
anyone, I apologize.
All the clubs pitched in and donated gifts to Brookwood Florida, a
Therapeutic Group Home for Teen Girls. Diane Sunden was our
guest speaker from Brookwood. Founded in 1927, Brookwood is a
licensed therapeutic group home for adolescent girls ages 11 to 21,
who come to Brookwood from throughout the state of Florida.
Residents are victims of abuse, neglect, violence, family dysfunction,
or homelessness. Brookwood's treatment philosophy is a combination
of cognitive, behavioral and reality therapies. The program goal is to
assist troubled young women in developing skills, self-concepts and a
maturity level sufficient to successfully return home or move into
independent living.
Scott conducted a short meeting with the following announcements:
The Breakfast club stole the traveling gavel from us, which we had
stolen from the Sunset club at a bunco game.
We have two new members Sue Foster and CJ Morris. Welcome
to the club!
Lee Warnock won 50/50.
January 20th is the next Zone 9 meeting at Gigi’s.
The next Downtown meeting is January 4th at Tick Tock and the
following meeting on January 18th will be at the Ronald McDonald
House.
Thank you’s went out to Gardner and Moonie for organizing the
Holiday Dinner!

6. Trivia
In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with
only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the
wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat
in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally
a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair
during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in
charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today
in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of
the Board.'
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice
a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men
shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs.
Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't
wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread,
put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would
make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often
use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to
be or is powerful and wealthy.
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly
bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. However,
since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers
to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a
bouquet when getting married.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that
would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh
(straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they
added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start
slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.
Hence: a thresh hold.

7. The Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself -
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the
presence of trouble.
CLUB OFFICERS DIRECTORS
President Scott Kaplan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .535-6939 Jean Rutan (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522-6143
7360 Ulmerton Rd. #21D, Largo, FL 33771 Rick Rutan (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522-6143
1st Vice Pres. Vi Hayworth . . . . . . . . . . . . 527-2656 Judy Warnock (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458-8278
2nd Vice Pres. Viki Pena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421-3721 Sharon Dennany (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . ..919-274-1311
Sec/Treas. Lee Warnock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577-7159 Gardner Harshman (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .592-0243
Sgt-At-Arms/Gardner Harshman. . . . . . . . 592-0243 Moonyeene Harshman (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . 592-0243
Chaplain Rick Rutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .522-6143
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Oratorical Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee Warnock
Essay Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jean Rutan
Programs/Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick Rutan
Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Vi Hayworth/Viki Pena
Poster Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jean Rutan
O.I. Foundation Rep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane Ridings
Respect for Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gardner Harshman
Youth Appreciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee Warnock
New Community Dev. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vi Hayworth
Raffles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee Warnock
Easter Egg Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Viki Pena
Bell Ringing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vi Hayworth
First Friday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee Warnock