Los Banos Rotary Club History
Rotary Club Fetes School Grid Team

The boys of the Los Banos high school football squad were guests of the Rotary Club Tuesday evening at a dinner party given at the Masonic Temple. The affair is an annual event honoring school football boys, and as in the past, miniature football charms were presented to each graduating member of the football squad. The seniors this year are Gerald Hass, Paul Giannone, Evan Buck, Robert Johnson, Gaylon Miller and Larry Burkett.

Rotary President R. Lindemann presided through the dinner and brief business session, then turned the gavel over to Judge D. Oliver Germino, who in his customary capable manner acted as toastmaster and presented the brief program. Judge Germino praised the boys and their coach, Carlyle Loftin, for their excellent work the past season. He particularly lauded the team's fighting spirit and good sportsmanship, and pointed to the large number of businessmen and their families who followed the team throughout the season as concrete evidence of the town's esteem and approval.
L. J. Spindt, school principal, spoke briefly concerning the squad and their coach, and emphasized that high school athletics is concerned primarily with how the game is played rather than the final score. He also expressed his personal thanks to Doctors Hillyer, Lymp and Pimentel for their interest in and help to the boys, in promptly and capably caring for their injuries through the season.

The boys were introduced by Coach Loftin, who briefly reviewed the past football season and paid tribute to members of the team for their fine spirit and attitude. He especially complimented the work of Captain Haas and Co-Captain Paul Giannone for their splendid work both on and off the field.
Other speakers included Sam Benidettino, assistant coach, and M. D. Wheat, local manager of the P.G.&E. Co. Sam mostly bemoaned the physical stress and strain caused him and Coach Loftin by the lightweight basketball team boys, who, though winning all of their games this season have yet to win by a margin of more than two points. Wheat, a former major league baseball player, reminisced briefly of his associations with some of yesterday's baseball heroes, and told several incidents of his personal baseball hero, Babe Ruth.

The program was concluded with the showing of the official motion pictures of the 1947 California-Stanford big game.

January 20, 1948

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