The Brundidge Rotary Club held its annual banquet at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Brundidge Thursday night and enjoyed a walk down memory lane with Rotarian Lamar Steed.

Steed has the honor of being the longest active member of the club and also the member with perfect attendance dating back to around 1984.

Club President Michael Lawler said those two distinctions qualified Steed to take the Rotarians and their guests on a sentimental journey back in time.

“We’re going to go back about as far as 1954 and on up through about 1985,” Steed said. “After that most of us can remember.”

Steed, along with his wife, Shirley, owns and operates Steed Tire Service in Brundidge. Long before he even thought about owning the tire store where he worked, Steed demonstrated his ability make a sale. He spoke of his attempts to get an “interesting” young woman to buy a set of tires on credit so she would have to come in every week to make the $1.25 payment. In 1954, Lamar and that young woman became man and wife – a testimony to the crafty businessman that he was.

Steed reminded the Rotarians of Benson Fruit Cake sales, S&H Green Stamps and Dollar Days in Brundidge.

“We all remember how excited we were when the glove factory came to Brundidge, bringing all those jobs,” he said. “We took a lot of pride in our town. We had a slogan: ‘Brundidge is bitter about litter,’ and we did our best to keep Brundidge clean. We still do by picking up litter every Saturday.”

Steed said Brundidge was going strong in 1970 with a population of 2,709.

“Thirty-four new houses were built from March 1970 to March 1971 and from 1960 to 1971, 186 people moved to Brundidge. Those were good times in Brundidge.”

After Steed’s keynote presentation, Lawler presented yearlong perfect attendance pens to Moses Davenport, Don Dickert, Jennifer Garrett, Cookie Graham, Homer Homann, Jack Jones, Larry Shiver, Lamar Steed, Chip Wallace, Cot Wallace, Sandy Boutwell, Michael Lawler and Henry Moore.

Brundidge Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellows for 2011-2012 Michael Lawler, Jaine Treadwell and Jamie Whitworth, were recognized.

The Rotary Club also recognized four of the Brundidge Rotary Club’s 2011-2012 six scholarship recipients who were in attendance, Thomas Graning, Zack Pearce, Brittany Craft and Chelsea Spiegner.

Lawler, club president, passed the gavel to Henry Moore who will be club president for the 2012-13 Rotary year. Jamie Whitworth was installed as club vice president, Sandy Boutwell, secretary; Larry Shiver, treasurer; and Ben Busbee as sergeant-at-arms.