History of the Kiwanis Club of Enid

• Organized March 20, 1920.
• Chartered March 30, 1920 with 73 members meeting in the old Oxford Hotel.
• Seventh club established in Oklahoma.
• During the succeeding years, other clubs were established by the Enid Club in Northwest and North Central
   Oklahoma.
• 1930's - Children were given free admission to the movies by exchanging an old pair of shoes at the theater. The
   shoes were fully repaired and then given to those in need in the community (recycling before there was recycling).
• 1933 - Enid hosted the Texas-Oklahoma Convention.
• Also in the 1930's - Kiwanis worked to set up a city manager-type government for our community, and created a
   scholarship fund to help young people go to college. The program continued until 1963.
• Kiwanis took an active role in a Safety First program, which conducted hazard inspections in our schools. Make our
   children safe was the goal.
• 1940 - Kiwanis Little Olympics was organized. May 16, 1941 - the first meet was conducted with 400 students
   from 11 different grade schools. The program has grown and continures to this day in the Enid School System.
• During World War II, Enid Kiwanians were involved in War Bond sales, the Red Cross, and the USO.
• Other war-years projects included a compaign to secure a new high school stadium and a nursing school for
   mothers of employed out of the home.
• 1947 - The Boys and Girls Committee of Enid Kiwanis organized the effort that chartered the Enid YMCA.
• 1948 - More than 6,000 watched 1,076 boys compete in the Kiwanis Little Olympics.
• 1949 - Tommy Dorsey and the Harlem Globetrotters brought to Enid by the Kiwanis.
• 1954 - Sponsored Soapbox Derby for several years.
• 1955 - The Rock Island Zephyr, a miniature train, is ordered for Meadowlake Park. In September 1955, the tunnel
   was completed and used initially as the first depot for the train. A flood weakened the dam, and the route of
   return on the half-mile track had to be changed. The first Kiwanitrain ran for the first time in the spring of 1958.
• 1962 - Kiwanians built and sold a house, with a net profit of $1,525.
• 1963 - The track was extended to one mile and crossed over Meadowlake on the west end of the park. The present
   Kiwanitrain, a 1/6-scale model of the original C.P. Huntington, was purchased.
• Beginnning in the 1970's, the Enid Kiwanis Club has participated in the Salvation Army Bell Ringing project at
   Christmas time.