By RONDA GRAFF

In March 2022, the McCook Rotary Club celebrated its 100th anniversary. As part of the celebration, a newspaper insert was designed for the McCook Gazette and to serve as a keepsake. 

The insert lists all the presidents dating back to 1922 when W. Marvin Somerville served as the first president and Steve Rasmussen took his second turn as president; Cloyd Clark was district governor in 2007-07 and Duane Tappe is noted as the last district governor from McCook in 2013-14; and Ben Hormel is listed as the only McCook member to serve on the Rotary International Board from 1971-1973. A lot of familiar names which have made an impact on McCook.

But the most interesting part of the insert to me - perhaps because I wrote them - are two articles that included interviews with John Hubert, another well-known name in our community. 

With John’s passing this week, I was prompted to dig out the 2022 Rotary insert and revisit quotes from John as well as Walt Sehnert, who were both 94 years young at the time. Although interviewed separately, memories from John as well as Walt Sehnert conveyed the history of not only Rotary but about McCook, recalling some of the community’s most infamous and memorable residents.

In particular, John said Rotary’s decision to allow women as members was not only inevitable but needed. 

“The women’s involvement is what has made sure that Rotary is still around after 100 years and continuing to make an impact in the community,” John said. 

Walt, who passed away in June 2022, took it a step further and said they didn’t have anything against women being in Rotary. 

“But some wives might not like us being in a meeting with members of the opposite sex,” Walt noted. 

As I looked back through the Rotary insert from just four years ago, names leap off the page who have come and gone from McCook, whether they passed away or moved on. 

Gov. Frank B. Morrison was president in 1946-47 of the club. Dr. John Batty took the reins in 1961-62. Floyd Hershberger led the group in 1982-83. And Jeanette Reed served as the first female president for the McCook club in 1999-2000, followed by the one-and-only Cloyd Clark to lead the group into the new millennium.

While John never served as president, he led the group in other ways, from the roadside cleanup east of McCook to helping with the bloodmobile - two projects the McCook Rotary Club continues to this day. His passion led to John receiving the “Ben Hormel” award - another well-known name in McCook’s history. John was so proud of the award, which is given to a member in recognition of their long time service to the club and community, that it hung on the wall in his living room. 

As a railroader for more than 40 years, John said he appreciated the opportunity to rub elbows with businessmen who he normally wouldn’t have encountered. But we all know that those “businessmen” were influenced by just as much - if not more - from being around John. 

His influence could be felt around McCook, whether it was his enthusiasm for history and the High Plains Museum or the fun of the Riverside Roller Skating Rink.

John also had a passion for the Fox Theater, key to bringing it back to its glory. He especially loved the marquee out front and could frequently be found manually changing the individual letters to wish someone a happy birthday or highlight an upcoming event. 

When the marquee was modernized, a design option included imitating the old manual marquee. If not for the LED lights, you can almost picture John standing in front of the fox with the long stick changing out the individual letters.

John was a storyteller up until the end, literally. He spoke this past June during the 2026 Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival, sharing a story alongside his daughter Christina Coleman, While his voice and his stature had changed, his enthusiasm for a good story was still there. 

As I flipped through the Rotary insert, there was a little bit of melancholy looking at all the names of people who had come and gone from the community. And now John Hubert is added to that list. 

But the best way to honor and remember John and all those who have come before us is to be thankful that they were here, to appreciate all they did for our community and to continue the work to make McCook and our communities even better places to call home.