The Three-Legged Stool

The Three-Legged Stool
Lansing H Irvine, attended school in Marshall, and a military academy in N. C.  Lansing Switch was named after him by his father Hugh R Levine. 
 
He worked in the offices of the T&P railroad before moving to Marshall, where he worked briefly in the railroad stores department. 
 
He married Miss Lulu Fry in 1901, making him the son-in -law of Major E J Fry, owner of Fry-Hodge Drug and worked for him over a quarter of a century, he became manager of Fry-Hodge Drug, and eventually President.  He and his father-in-law joined the Rotary club in 1919 as charter members.  His classification was “Retail Drugs”.
 
He was cited many times for excellence in his profession, winning several awards for the store’s performance.  He was loved by the children, who “seldom left the sore without a gift of some sort”.  It was his way to encourage them and be a role model for them.  He was a member of the Elks club, rising to the position of “Exalted Ruler”
 
The entertainment committee kept the interest and attendance up, but Lansing didn’t stop there. He served as the second President of The Rotary Club of Marshall in 1920-21. Lancing was his own man, confident and resourceful, he saw unmet needs, unresolved problems, and believed that Rotary had could help. 
 
Lansing was a true Rotarian who believed in putting his “clout” behind his words and the Rotary Club of Marshall Texas and the city of Marshall were beneficiaries of his leadership throughout the year.
 
Early in his year he asked for and got approval to create a Public Affairs committee and four sub-committees to study and bring back recommendations to the club. 
 
The recommendations of the committee included working with the Chamber of Commerce to address six pressing issues;
  1. inaugurate a city market,
  2. work with the agricultural agent to agitate and educate farmers and ranchers in improved methods of raising stock; and farmers in choosing and planting better seeds,
  3. expand and extent the phone system of Marshall,
  4. repair all streets in need of repair,
  5. hire a city engineer,
  6. improve, upgrade, and expand the city’s water supply system.
Two other recommendations included:
  1. appoint a committee to confer with the fire chief relative to the need for more firemen
  2. Appoint a committee to determine if the club would favor investigating complaints about violators of city ordinances, and bring a complaint against them in the name of the Rotary club and putting the club’s resources and the member’s “clout” behind them 
Lansing was the third part of the three-corner-stone foundation, sandwiched between two of the icons of the Marshall Rotary Club.  Like the three-legged-stool, the three giants of the club each contributed their own particular skills to the club.
Ike Hochwald’s zeal rubbed off on everyone, Frank Davis’s contributions to every cause and project, provided the means, and Lansing Irving’s vision and attention to detail and organization, gave the new club a strong and stable foundation upon which to grow and prosper. 
Our foundation and the men who laid it will be gratefully remembered in less than ten months, when we celebrate a “