Rotary Last WeekWhat a fun and friendly gathering we had on July 9! Don Foley called the meeting to order, with Elsa Higby leading us in singing “God Bless America.” Don then congratulated Dionne Dowdy for being named by the Youngstown Business & Professional Women’s Club as its Woman of the Year. She will receive her award during a dinner on Oct. 21 at The Lake Club. Bill Lawson introduced Atty. Carl James, a former Rotarian and a great-grandson of brewer George Renner (who, coincidentally, built a house on Wick Park in 1907). The Renner name became known for beer brewing in Youngstown from the early 1900s. The George Renner Brewing Co. now has a licensing agreement with (Rotarians) Aspasia and Rick Bernacki of Penguin City. They tapped their first batch of Renner-style beer during the Happy Birthday Youngstown event on June 29. 
George Renner became involved in brewing as a teenager, James said. At 23, he purchased a newly-closed brewery on the lower South Side for $4,000. He built and rebuilt his brewery (after an explosion and fire) into the city’s largest beer distributor, with 52 horses and delivery wagons. He was challenged by Prohibition, which began in 1920 after voters approved the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, and ended with adoption of the 21st Amendment in 1933. Renner Beer cans were made of steel, and steelworkers were Renner Beer’s customers. Renner Beer ceased operations in 1954. 
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