History of Stafford Rotary - Red Telephone Box

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The antique red English telephone box that serves visitors at the Stafford Administration Center reminds everyone of the historic link between this area and England. It was a gift to Stafford Countyfrom our Rotary club.

 The idea for this project came from the late Rev. Joseph Kerr who was our club’s second president. Joseph spotted the box at Governor’s Antiques in Richmond and shared his idea with club members. Mark Osborn and T. Campbell took one of T’s company trucks to get the box. On the trip back to Fredericksburg, this cast iron booth that weighs close to a ton, nearly caused an axle to break.  T’s employees spent a lot of time doing the sandblasting and painting after the club’s steam ran out.  Buck, Graham, and some of the other club members helped with the project.

The box needed some new parts. In trying to locate parts for the telephone box our club members contacted Rotarians in Stafford, England. The restoration and presentation of the Booth to Stafford County led to international relationships not only with Staffordshire, England but also Stafford, Queensland Australia, Stafford, Connecticut and other Stafford Rotary Clubs around the world.

Stafford County has a formal sister-city relationship with Stafford Borough, England. The relationship began in 1991 when the Rotary Clubs of the two communities first made contact. Visits and exchanges take place at all levels of the community, including college students from Stafford College and Germanna Community.