Several weeks back, Pam Manfredi, to whom I affectionately refer as our “work family’s rock solid anchor”, formally known as our Director of Office Administration, came in my office carrying something. “I was looking through my desk, and thought you’d like to see this”, she said, as she handed me what appeared to be a vintage novel or journal. Across the canvas-bound antiqued cover were the words, “Board of Directors Minutes” in beautifully hand-crafted calligraphy. Pam remained standing in front of me as I laid it in my lap and cracked the front cover. Almost jumping off the top right of the first page appeared the date, “1910”. I whipped my gaze back towards Pam, “Board of Directors meeting minutes from 1910? Are you serious?” She affirmed with a nod. “As in written minutes from over a century ago?” Again, she joined me in excited astonishment. “And you had this in your desk?”, I asked with a giggle. This was humorous, because of a running joke in our office about what could be found under Pam’s desk. She would hands-down win a million dollars on the modern-day “Let’s Make a Deal” game show. Need a snack or a drink? Ask Pam. Need a paper clip? Ask Pam. Need a hammer or some nails? A needle and thread? Ask Pam. Need a 100+ year old book containing the history of our organization, community and even more special, pages that contained the signatures, in their own personal script, of some of our county’s trailblazers and forefathers? Ask Pam.
My nose was lost in this gem for at least an hour. I read every word. From census numbers of 1910 to road bond election results with attached newspaper clippings dated April 15, 1912, to lists of board members and the committees in which they served, signed resolutions, and even to annual financial statements. There was a letter written to the Board of Directors from Oscar Price, Director of Publicity of the US Treasury Department, urging them to encourage their employees to perform their patriotic act by purchasing Liberty Bonds in support of our front line troops and allies during World War I. On January 1910, they adopted a graduated investment scale for membership which stated that all bankers, merchants, manufacturers, hotels and other businesses should contribute $2.50 per month; physicians, ministers and other professions, $1.00 per month; mechanics and farmers, $0.50 per year; Laborers, $0.25 per year and women and children would invest $0.10 per year! What an invaluable treasure this ledger truly was!
The gift of true nostalgia; being able to take a step back in time and for a moment be a fly on the wall at those meetings just by running my finger across the eloquently penned statements of this book. I smiled, even laughed at times thinking about how things have changed, but poignantly sat feeling proud and truly thankful. I felt a deep sense of gratitude for those professional men of long ago who engaged around those board room tables with like-minded dedication driven by passion for building a community that would continue to grow and sustain itself over a century later.
As the Greek proverb states, “A society grows great when men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” I can’t help but think of these past leaders and how they would be so proud of the shade they created, now enjoyed by generations after them.
www.LindsayKeisler.com 