Corbin Kiwanis Club celebrates 100 years

Literally building a trail/road to what would later become one of the most popular state parks in Kentucky, and operating a cemetery for 65 years are two things that most people wouldn’t ordinarily associate with a civic club, but the Corbin Kiwanis Club isn’t most clubs.

This week the Corbin Kiwanis Club will celebrate a milestone that few groups, clubs or organizations can ever expect to reach. On Thursday, Oct. 21, the club will be celebrating its 100^th anniversary.

“There have been hundreds of service projects that the club has done over the years and hopefully, we will continue. Hopefully, the Kiwanis Club will be here 100 years from now. Hopefully, some of the younger generation will decide it’s a good thing to do volunteer service for the community,” said current Corbin Kiwanis Club President Paul Matney.

Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus congratulated the club on reaching the milestone.

“ What a major milestone to reach the centenary anniversary of the forming of the Kiwanis Club of Corbin. It brings to mind the generations of Corbinites who have kept this club vibrant and active through the decades of ups and downs and changes in our community. It is my sincere hope that the current and future generations will recognize the importance of being an active citizen that is engaged and participating in the life of their community. Again, congratulations!” Razmus said.

Kiwanis International President Peter J. Mancuso also recently recognized the club in a letter to Matney.

“Congratulations as your club celebrates its 100^th anniversary,” he wrote. “The club experience is central to the success of Kiwanis International. We feed off the camaraderie of working together for the good of our communities. As you come together to celebrate, take pride in your accomplishments and the impact you have had on children in your area.”

Becoming a club

On Oct. 21, 1921, the Kiwanis Club of Corbin was granted a charter to become a community service organization as part of Kiwanis International.

Kiwanis International is a global community of clubs, members and partners dedicated to improving the lives of children one community at a time. Today, it stands with more than 550,000 members from K-Kids to Key Club to Kiwanis and many ages in between in 80 countries and geographic areas, Kiwanis International wrote on its website.

Each community has different needs, and Kiwanis empowers members to pursue creative ways to serve the needs of children, such as fighting hunger, improving literacy and offering guidance. Kiwanis clubs host nearly 150,000 service projects each year, according to the website.

Kiwanis Trail

One of the Corbin Kiwanis Club’s earliest and perhaps most lasting projects came in 1927 when it built the “Kiwanis Trail” to Cumberland Falls.

“They saw a need. They saw what a wonderful resource Cumberland Falls could be. They had a vision of what it might be, but to have a resource that added to the economic future of the region, you needed a road,” Matney noted.

“There wasn’t a road that you could drive to Cumberland Falls from this area. They started out building what might be described as a trail, and the trail got widened a little bit to where you could drive it in the automobiles.”

Matney noted that after the club got the trail to the point where you could drive an automobile on it, the club then approached the state upgrading it to a road.

“They said, ‘Look what a resource this would be for our community, and the growth and the tourism that it could bring.’ The state saw and agreed with their vision and put the road in. Of course, there have been improvements made over the years. Look at the tourist attraction and the economic benefit it has brought this area,” Matney added.

Matney said that there is no definitive answer in regards to how long it took to build the trail, or how much of it was in place before the Corbin Kiwanis Club started its work.

According to the commemorative historic marker, which is located near the entrance to Dupont Lodge, the trail was completed on Sept. 22, 1927. The highway was dedicated in 1931 opening Cumberland Falls to the public.

Members of the Kiwanis Road Committee were Tom Gallagher, I.O. Chitwood, Robert A. Blair and Wade Chandler.

Pine Hill Cemetery

The history of the club would not be complete without mentioning Pine Hill Cemetery, which the Corbin Kiwanis Club has maintained and provided oversight of for 65 years.

Matney said that some community members had purchased the cemetery area and were overseeing it as a private endeavor.

“When I guess they became elderly or unable to oversee it, they basically asked the Corbin Kiwanis Club to take it over,” Matney said. “Really, if you think about it, due to the civic nature of Pine Hill Cemetery it is a historical record of the city of Corbin. If you go and look at who is interned in the cemetery and you look at today’s residents a lot of today’s residents of Corbin have relatives buried in the cemetery. There were a lot of the civic leaders and other people from the city, who have been buried there. It would be a shame not to keep that history alive for the residents of Corbin.”

First women join

In 1987, Kiwanis International amended its bylaws to allow female membership in the organization.

The Corbin Kiwanis Club initially accepted five female members: Nancy Mitchell, Jenny Watkins Cain, Carolyn Byble, Sharon Gant and Joyce Bowling.

Bowling is still active and is the treasurer of the club.  Over the years, the club has had many talented women members, including many who have served as president of the club.

100 years later

When the Corbin Kiwanis Club was founded 100 years ago, did its leaders think it would still be around today?

“That’s a good question. I think they did. I think their vision was of a service organization, the Kiwanis Club, that developed leadership in the membership that served the community and served children not only in this community but worldwide,” Matney said.

Some of the mottos for the club over the years have been, “we serve,” “we build,” and “children priority one.”

“If you look at a service organization, you go back – I cannot take credit for this – but if you go back and look at the keys of happiness, there are two keys to happiness, serve God and serve your fellow man. This is part of serving God and serving your fellow man. When you do service for children, when you do service for the community, when you do that, you will find happiness,” Matney noted.

“I don’t care how much money you make in this world. Until you do those two things, you will never really find true happiness.”

The pandemic has, of course, hurt the club’s membership cutting it in half, caused it to cancel typical fundraisers that it would normally and so forth.

Aside from the last two years though, Matney said he thinks that the founders would be proud of what the club has become today.

Matney admits he would have liked to have been able to do more the last few years noting that the club was kind of handcuffed by the pandemic.

“Prior to that, I am very proud of what the club has accomplished,” Matney said.

Next 100 years

Matney thinks that the club will still be around for another 100 years.

Matney said that he would love to see some younger people come in, who have bold visions and bold ideas that would benefit the community, and who want make those visions and ideas a reality.

“Just like the road to Cumberland Falls, that type of vision and that type of leadership really makes a difference in the community, and I would like to see that,” he added.

Out of an abundance of caution, the club chose not to host a dinner to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the club due to Covid concerns.

The Corbin Kiwanis Club regularly meets at David’s Steakhouse at noon on Wednesdays in the back meeting room.

For more information, come to a meeting of the Corbin Kiwanis Club or call  (606) 521-8090.