Staff photo / Bob Coupland
Newton Falls Kiwanis Club treasurer Kathy Wujcik, left and secretary Elizabeth Yura look over a history of the club at the recent 100th anniversary celebration.

The club members celebrated by gathering recently at the Covered Bridge Inn in downtown.

Adam Zimmermann, club president, who has served with the club for two years, said the official milestone was during the summer.

“We have a great group of people and a great community supporting us,” he said.

The Warren and Newton Falls clubs are the two remaining Kiwanis clubs in the county.

Elizabeth Yura, club secretary and a 10-year member, said the club’s main objective is to serve children.

Zimmermann said the club gives books to school children and sponsors sports teams, backpack programs and the annual Civic Day, and gives scholarships to high school seniors. The club has more than 20 members who meet twice a month.

At the 100th anniversary in July at the Covered Bridge Inn, Jason Miller, Ohio Kiwanis governor, and Doug Falk, Ohio lieutenant governor of Division 26, were guests. Each member received an engraved anniversary coaster souvenir.

“The Beacon of Hope Award” was presented to Zimmermann and Yura.

Four people with memberships of more than 30 years were honored: Tom Palmer, 46 years; Rob Dempsey, 42 years; George Koutsounadis, 33 years; and Joel Kellner, 31 years.

Kathy Wujcik, club treasurer and a 12-year member, said the club sponsors an annual cake walk at Halloween. That event also is approaching a milestone anniversary — the first one took place in 1926.

Participants win a cake by walking around to music and then if someone is under an arch, they are the winner. There are sponsors for the arches that help offset cake costs, Wujcik said.

Yura said this year there were 150 cakes and one year, there were more than 300.

Zimmermann said a Halloween costume contest was added to the cake walk, with Kiwanis members as judges. Yura said during the Depression, the cake walk participants were given bags of sugar rather than a cake because sugar was needed at the time.

WHAT MEMBERS LIKE

“I like being part of the Kiwanis because it has always been pro-Newton Falls. It has always been about kindness and giving,” Wujcik said.

Yura said when she was first asked to join the club, she had never heard of Kiwanis.

Zimmermann said he enjoys community service and providing opportunities for children to help them become more civic-minded adults.

Wujcik said because there are so few Kiwanis clubs locally, they try to get together with the clubs in Warren and Salem. The club also takes part in regional division events.

Yura said the club each May sponsored a Junior Olympics at the high school stadium.

Wujcik said the school track group took over the event, but Kiwanis members still help by handing out ribbons.

Yura said the club donates to Hearts for Music which is a special needs orchestra that in April will go to the Vatican to perform.

Wujcik said she remembers when the Kiwanis would sponsor a vaudeville show called “Kiwanis Capers.”

Over the years, the Kiwanis Club has changed to now include women.

Wujcik said they raise funds to support scholarships and also to help cover costs to send high school students to Boys and Girls State leadership events in the summer at colleges and universities.

Zimmermann said Newton Falls High School used to have a Key Club, which is a youth equivalent of the Kiwanis Club, but it has since dissolved.

He said the Ohio Kiwanis state district convention is set for Aug. 1 to 3 in Niles, with the local club as one of the hosts.

“Kiwanis members from all over the state will be coming here,” he said.

Yura said many area Kiwanis Club disbanded because members got older and were not replaced with new and younger members, while some clubs combined with others. However, new members have joined the Newton Falls Kiwanis in recent years.

Sue Holub said her husband, Tim, and their daughter, Carly, and son-in-law, Mike Nicholas, have helped at the cake walk for many years as judges for the costume contest and decided to become members.

“It is a really great organization. We all enjoy taking part at Kiwanis events and decided to join,” Holub said.