Miami City Cemetery are (l-r) Robin Shelley, past district governor; Dr. Paul George; past president Norm Kassoff, and Dr. James Hutson, grandson of Dr. James M. Jackson.
The Rotary Club of Miami held a special meeting at the Miami City Cemetery, 1800 NE Second Ave., on Apr. 24, to honor its founder, James M. Jackson, who passed away on gthe same date in 1924.
Several days after his death the Miami City Commission renamed the Miami City Hospital after Dr. Jackson, and it is still known today as Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Jackson founded the Rotary Club of Miami, now in its 101st year, in March 1917, and was its first president. He also founded the YMCA of Greater Miami, now known as the YMCA of South Florida, in 1916.
During his lifetime he was a well respected doctor and a great advocate for the development of Miami as a city. He always believed that for Miami to become a world class city it needed to have organizations such as Rotary and the YMCA to offer their services to the residents of the city and for community leaders to act as volunteers in these organizations.
Other Rotary Club of Miami early leaders who served as club president are Frank B. Shutts, founder of the Miami Herald, and Crate D. Bowen who, along with Shutts, founded the law firm, Shutts and Bowen. They are buried in the Miami City Cemetery. Other notable Rotarians buried in the Miami City Cemetery are past presidents Frank B. Stoneman and Rodney D. Burdine.
The meeting was attended by many of the current membership and a special guest, Dr. James Hutson, the grandson of Dr. Jackson, who shared some of his memories of his grandfather.
The meeting was all about history in another way. Dr. Paul George, resident gistorian of HistoryMiami Museum, was inducted as an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Miami. After his induction, Paul gave a brief history of Dr. Jackson in the early years of Miami and how much he contributed to the development of Miami as a city.
