History
Kiwanis
was
founded
in
Detroit,
Michigan,
January
21,
1915.
It
extended
into
Canada
in
1916.
Not
until
1962
did
it
serve
outside
these
two
nations.
The
Kiwanis
Club
of
Hickory
was
chartered
with
63
members
on
May
12,
1921
by
the
Salisbury
Club.
This
organization
occurred
at
the
Catawba
Cafe
on
present-day
Union
Square.
By
the
time
the
Hickory
Club
was
formed
in
1921,
the
Kiwanis
"International"
had
267
clubs
and
28,000
members
nationwide;
the
motto
of
"We
Build"
was
adopted
and
the
Kiwanis
Magazine
was
begun.
The
Hickory
Kiwanis
Club
was
organized
originally
as
an
evening
club
meeting
weekly.
The
Tuesday
night
tradition
has
never
varied.
Le
Roy
Franklin
Abernethy
was
the
first
club
president
in
1921.
(He
is
listed
in
the
1920-1921
Hickory
City
Directory
as
cashier
of
the
Commercial
Consolidated
Trust
Company
and
vice
president
of
Hickory
Flour
Mills.)