Two other items of note about the nearby coastal town of Darien. One is, my wife and I have been trading for a number of years with what was Darien Ford, in an old building right on U.S. 17, just north of the downtown section. It dates back at least to the 1940’s, when US 17 was the main road from points north to Florida, before I-95 got built and changed everything.

Now I think it’s home to the fire dept.

We both like small cars, and have to have ones with high gas mileage, as we live in Midway but work in Savannah, so put on a lot of miles just going back and forth to work. We both bought several Escorts there, the early 4-cylinder model, which always proved quite dependable, and were affordable.

The fellow we normally dealt with there was a very nice older gentleman named Bill Haskins, who always answered our questions without being pushy.

He was always interested in finding out what we needed, rather than just trying to sell us something, which we appreciated.

We bought several vehicles from him, over the years, before he finally retired. And we have continued to do business with that dealership, even as it changed hands several times, and eventually moved to a beautiful new facility on a rise overlooking I-95, a mile east, across from what was once the Darien Mall, a collection of outlet stores that was very popular with both locals and travelers for many years. It is sadly now pretty much vacant.

This dealership has always had a strong service department, which is another reason I keep going back. Sometimes I have thought it was about time for new tires or brakes, and when I’ve asked about it, they’ve told me no, I didn’t need to do that right now.

So when they’ve said I was going to need one or both, I never hesitated, and went with their recommendations.

My wife got introduced to Darien through her job as director of communications for Coastal Electric Cooperative, in Midway, some years back. Coastal Electric Membership Corp, as it was originally known, was the electric provider for parts of Bryan, Liberty, and McIntosh Counties, and is very active in serving those communities.

All the top managers of Coastal EMC were expected to belong to Rotary Clubs in their areas, so some joined the club in Hinesville, others in Richmond Hill, and Anne happily became a member of the McIntosh County club in Darien. It was the smallest of the three, but very active for a club of its size, with lots of nice people from all walks of life, whom I was pleased to get to know.

My dad had been a Rotarian, in Savannah, many years ago, but I didn’t know anything about it, back then, other than “that’s where he went to lunch on Tuesdays.” But I was just a kid back then.

Because of my experience later, as a “Rotary spouse,” I saw “up close and personal,” as the saying goes, how much these clubs contribute to their communities, and worldwide.

I will never forget going to the annual year-end dinner of the McIntosh club, that first year Anne was a member, held at a small supper club just north of town. The club president that year was Bill Quinn, a mild-mannered fellow who worked for what was then Darien Telephone Co. (This was before the internet and cable came along; it has now expanded and changed with the times.)

When Bill gave us his year-end review of the club’s activities, I was astonished. He must have talked for 15-20 minutes on all the things they had done, from supporting the local kids on various school activities, to scholarships for college students, and even joining with a club on St. Simons Island to sponsor an international student for a year at Valdosta State University! I was amazed.

The District Governor who joined us that night, from Brunswick, came up to me afterwards and asked if I was a member of a Rotary Club, too? When I told him that I wasn’t, he asked, why not? I told him that I had in fact been invited to join a club in Savannah, but my workload at the time was so heavy I didn’t think I could commit to weekly meetings.

He told me that when I was ready, I should, and that I would never regret it. And then handed me that year’s Rotary International theme pin, and said to get Anne to pin it on my jacket when I did become a member.

I have never forgotten that. And, several months later, I accepted the invitation I had been given earlier, and became a proud member of the Savannah Sunrise Rotary Club. (And later served as its president.) And yes, Anne did put that pin on me when I was inducted.

I still have it. And, as that District Governor told me, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. More on that later.

Along with the related tale of the rubber ducks and the Thunderbird convertible.

Rafe Semmes is a local writer.