Dr. Wolfgang Mieder, University of Vermont

A devotee and lecturer on the use of proverbs, Dr. Mieder told the Rotary Club that in his mind, the quintessentially American proverb would have to be: "Paddle your own canoe."

Dr. Mieder is the author of the book: No Struggle, No Progress - Frederick Douglas and His Proverbial Rhetoric for Civil Rights.

Wolfgang Mieder is considered by his peers to be the world's leading authority on the study of proverbs. Dr. Mieder is the founding editor of Proverbium: The Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship and has written and edited over 60 books and dozens of articles on various aspects of proverbs. He is chairperson of the Departments of German and Russian at the University of Vermont.

The Rotary Club was treated to an informative session, as Dr. Mieder expounded on the use of proverbs by the remarkable Mr. Douglas.

Another favorite proverb: "Be the architect of your own success."