Exeter History Tellers: 1993 Joe Doctor Article

Joe Doctor

Joe Doctor, who came to Exeter in 1937 to serve as editor of the Exeter Sun, became one of the community’s most involved citizens, remaining active in Exeter until his death in 1995. His curiosity and decades of research made him one of the community’s most important preservers and promoters of local history.

This month’s Exeter History Tellers article is a reprint of a piece Joe wrote in 1993 about the history of the Exeter Kiwanis Club. CACHE will celebrate that history with a special presentation on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., and again during the Exeter Lions Club Melodrama on September 26.

This article is reprinted from the Exeter Sun, January 1993

 

We date from the fall of ‘23 

By Joe Doctor

It was only eight years after Kiwanis was born in Detroit (1915) that a number of business and professional men got together to form a similar club in Exeter.

Accordingly, in the early fall of 1923, the first luncheon meeting was held in the Odd Fellow Hall and the first officers of what was to become the Kiwanis Club of Exeter were elected.

These men had assistance from clubs previously formed in the Valley's larger cities- Fresno, Bakersfield Hanford, and Visalia - and they had been given guidance from Kiwanis at district and state levels.

Exeter had its fraternal organizations to help make life more interesting - Mason, Odd Fellows, Redmen, Knight of Pythias and Woodmen of the World - but it did not have a community service organization with a motto such as that of Kiwanis, “We Build!”

It had leadership. At that first meeting the officers were elected, busy competent men. The first president was Francis W Mixter, known to his friends as Frank. He was a pharmacist who had built the city’s most prominent building (destroyed by fire in 1991 and now the site of Mixter’s Park)

Frank F. Vaughn, fruit grower and shipper was elected district trustee; W.P. Ballard, superintendent of the Visalia Electric Railroad, first vice-president; Dr Reuben C. Hill, known Valley wide for his skill as a surgeon, second vice-president; Roy T Jackson, also a VERR official, secretary; Roy K Dowell, bank manager, treasure, N.N. Redford, pharmacist and partner in the Exeter Drug Company, sergeant at arms; B. F. List prominent grower and shipper; D.H. Rowland, feed store proprietor;  Charles L. Burnett, lumberyard operator and later insurance broker; J.B. Matchin, Santa Fe railroad agent; Leo and Sidney Schelling, merchants; and Frank Livingston, grower and shipper, directors.

The "Charter Night” was not held until February 16, 1924, by which time membership had risen to approximately 50 and the list read like a male who’s who of the community.

Charter Night was held at the Visalia Municipal Auditorium, as there was no place to hold an assembly of approximately 400 persons for dinner in Exeter. Not only wives were present, but also large delegations from Fresno, Bakersfield, Hanford and Visalia.

Even before its Charter Night, the club had embarked on community service, one of the first being a pledge to support the local Boy Scout troop, an activity which the club has been committed to the present.

In 1924, the club undertook a major project for a fledgling organization, construction of a wading pool for children at the City Park, an enterprise which continues to serve well on hot summer days. Needless to say, club support has gone on through the years for activities for children, you and seniors.

Through the 1920s the club membership held steady. It met in the basement of the Methodist Church, the ladies of the church catering the Wednesday noon luncheon. The food was excellent, which made the club a favorite place to attend. To this day, good food has been a factor in the club’s popularity.

In the 1930s when American hit the doldrums of the Great Depression, Exeter Kiwanis membership was affected as some could not afford the nominal dues, luncheon costs and fines when ran no more than a quarter. But the club did not waiver. The Kiwanis mild fund furnished milk to underprivileged children in schools, annually an un-publicized Christmas party was held at the high school gymnasium at which donations of clothing, toys and treats were given to families in need.

Exeter Kiwanis has had a hand in promoting other clubs in nearby communities including Farmersville, Lindsay and Woodlake.

Joe served many years as an extremely active member of our club before his death in August 1995. He is missed.