On May 6, 2025, Charlie Blanchard captivated the Sturbridge Rotary Club with a compelling presentation on the town’s rich history in firearm manufacturing, focusing on the Gibbs Tiffany & Co. rifle company. Operating from approximately 1820 to 1838, Gibbs Tiffany & Co. was renowned for producing underhammer percussion pistols, a distinctive design that marked a significant innovation in early American firearms.
Interact leaders include co-Presidents Jackson Landine, and Stella Buday, Vice President Rachel Salisbury, Treasurer Charlotte Ardis, Secretary Jocelyn Mrotek, and Publicist Samantha Baker.
Rotarians on hand to celebrate with the students and welcome them to the Rotary family were Sturbridge members David Zonia, Kelly Landine, Laurie Palmer, Otto Prohaska, Sujoy Spencer, and Bob Wicks. Brookfields Rotary was well represented by President Teresa McCarthy, Lynn Duffy-O’Shea, Christine Gagnon and her husband John. Unfortunately, several other Sturbridge members were traveling or under the weather and unable to attend.
Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter.
Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
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Service Above Self
Sturbridge, MA
United States of America