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The President's Gavel
By Chalie Schob
Some thoughts on making the mallet.... A gavel is a ceremonial mallet. A mallet is a working tool used primarily to tap a chisel. I chose to make a mallet as a symbol of a working club.
Having done that, I decided to make the mallet from one piece of wood. Most mallets have a head and a handle. Please note that ours is hewn from a single piece of oak. I thought this would indicate the unity of our club. The solid oak and the hand hewn handle are further indications of our strength.
A saw was used to rough out the head and handle. The saw notches one can see in the head were left intentionally to illustrate that even presidents make mistakes and go too far. My hope is they will serve to remind future leaders of their limitations.
The mallet is intentionally not stained or finished. In time it will develop a beautiful luster, as will our club, from the sweat, oil, tears and efforts of those in charge and diligent work of the members.
Direct your attnetion to the Rotary emblem. Please note that it is a solid gear with a keyway to indicate it is a driver. Note that the gear teeth are not all quite uniform any more than individual members are the same. However, the teeth are not off enough to prevent the gear from working as a solid unit.
Burned in the mallet head are the key words to the Four-Way Test to remind us all how important a part of our daily lives it should be. Last but not least the mallet will be a more effective tool than a gavel to bang the heads of members as required. |
