Our meetings always begin with the Pledge of Allegiance, the singing of My Country 'Tis Of Thee, and an invocation. We also pay tribute to our neighbors to the north by singing O Canada. According to club member Brad Randall, the reason we sing O Canada has more to do with history than proximity. Kiwanis was founded in Detroit in 1915 and the following year, 1916, it branched out across the Detroit river into Canada, thus quickly becoming international. The Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom is in the Pacific Northwest Division which includes the Yukon and British Columbia.
The Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
My Country 'Tis of Thee
My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!
O Canada
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
