Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Founding Day and Plenty of Cake Too

While we're celebrating the League’s centennial all year long, it is on this very day in 1913 that we took our first steps forward.

This. Very. Day. That’s right, it’s our birthday. Who brought the party hats?

Perhaps because it takes a certain "je nai sais quoi" to pull off a party hat at the age of 100, we've come to refer to Aug. 21 as Founding Day instead.

 It's a great time to reflect on our simple beginnings, when 66 officials from 51 municipalities arrived at the doorstep of Minneapolis Mayor W.G. Nye to establish the framework of the organization.

Officers were elected; a constitution written and voted upon. The delegates dutifully continued to work during a luncheon held at the Elks' Club.

The secretary of the League of Iowa Municipalities was even on hand to help with the process.

The last course of action was to set the date and place of the upcoming convention, to be held in St. Paul during the month of October.

This year, Founding Day will come and go with business as usual, just as the first meeting of the League did 100 years ago. 

But maybe, just maybe, someone will bring party hats this time.

We're not sure why these city officials and Executive Director Don Slater (circa 1987) are in possession of so much cake, but we like where their heads are at.



 Want to know more about the League's founding? Check out this post from Jan. 16 for more background on LMC's beginnings!