Redwood County, Minnesota - Chapter 36: Old Settlers' Association, 1916

There has never been an Old Settlers' Association in Redwood county embracing the whole county. The meetings of the Renville County Association have, however, been well attended by the Redwood county pioneers who settled along the Minnesota river. In the southeastern part of Redwood county there has been a nourishing Old Settlers ' Association.

This association was organized at the home of Christopher Whelan, in Sundown township, November 26, 1886. It came into being with twenty-six charter members, the number of members being later increased to seventy-six. The constitution and by-laws adopted contained the following: Preamble - A record of the early settlement of a community being a convenient reference, it becomes necessary in order to obtain the same and to further the interests of the community for the people to take united action in accomplishing their object. Therefore, the undersigned agree to form an association and be governed in their fundamental action by the following constitution : Article I. The title and name of this society shall be The Old Settlers' Association of Willow Lake, Sundown and Adjoining Towns. Article II. Any person, male or female, may become a member of this society (if the date of their settlement in the community be previous to the year 1880) by subscribing their names to the constitution and the payment of the sum of ten cents. Article III. The officers of this society shall be a president, two vice presidents, a secretary and treasurer, said officers to constitute an executive committee. The officers shall be elected annually by ballot and shall hold their respective offices until others are elected and consent to act. Article D7 provided that the annual meeting of the society should be held on the last Thursday in November of each year, when the annual election of officers should take place; also that every member of the society should be entitled to vote at said election; that the secretary and treasurer should present their annual reports at the same; that special meetings of the society might be called by the president, or in case of his absence or inability, by one of the vice presidents; and that notice of the annual meeting should be inserted in at least one of the weekly papers of Redwood county. Articles V and VI denned the duties of the secretary and treasurer. Article VII provided for the appointment from time to time of such subcommittees as might be deemed necessary. Article VIII denned the powers and duties of the executive committee ; and a proviso for the amendment of the constitution by a two-thirds vote was contained in Article IX. It was also provided that no person serving as a member of either the executive or any sub-committee should receive any salary or pay for his services. The constitution was prepared by a committee of three, consisting of Dr. Hitchcock, Ira Sanford and W. F. Swetlan, acting with the secretary, N. W. Cobleigh. It was moved and carried that the picnic for the year 1886 be held at Ira Sanford 's, the 19th of June, and the annual meeting be held at Ernest Wandrey's the following Thanksgiving. A committee of five was elected as a committee of arrangements to provide the necessary material for entertainment, the members composing it being Paul Wandrey (chairman), C. Whelan, Louis Whelan, W. Sanford and E. Thornton. A picnic was held in June of each year henceforth, these picnics being largely attended from all parts of the county, the attendance sometimes reaching 1,000 persons. Prior to 1890 no vehicles except lumber wagons were seen at these picnics, and some ox teams appeared. The county was sparsely settled and these occasions affording an opportunity for the settlers to get acquainted with their distant neighbors, were looked forward to with a great deal of interest.

The following list gives the names of those who have signed the membership roll, with date and place of nativity and date of settlement, in consecutive order: C. W. Whelan, 1820, Canada; 1873 (died June 13, 1898). Philip Matter, 1838, France;