Rotary Club of Palgrave’s Weekly Rotary Minute : Caledon Citizen : https://caledoncitizen.com

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Rotary Club of Palgrave’s Weekly Rotary Minute

By Krysta Cadden
To celebrate National Sing Out Day March 22, we learned of Edgar A Guest.
Eddie was born in Birmingham, England in 1881. He moved with his family to the U.S. as a child of 10, settling in Detroit, Michigan. He was a restless youth, with an inner ambition and driving nature.
At the age of 13, he began working for the Detroit Free Press as a copy boy. By the time he should have been graduating from high school, he was earning a reputation for tenacity in what was a very competitive newspaper town. As a 17 year-old high school dropout, he began to write poetry. His first poem was published in December 1898. His continuing contributions of verse and metered observations eventually led to a weekly column and then a daily column he called Breakfast Table Chat.
His verses went into syndication, eventually carried by more than 300 newspapers around the country. His increasing popularity led to one of radio's earliest and longest running shows.
Over the 60 years that Eddie was with the Detroit Free Press, thousands of Detroiters were born and grew up before they knew a day without his poetry or human touch.
A proud member of the Detroit Rotary Club, Eddie became known as the People's Poet. He was made Poet Laureate of Michigan, the only poet to have been awarded that title.
In his poem He Who Serves, he demonstrates his commitment to service and in it you can sense his devotion to the Four-Way Test.
Please visit www.rotaryclubofpalgrave.com for more information on the Youth Exchange Program and for more information on our Club and all the wonderful ways you could get involved.

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