Where were you in 1946? Just a twinkle in your daddy's eye? (Or maybe your granddaddy?). 1946 and ........the Big One (WWII) was over, the troops were streaming home and our country was on the verge of the greatest economic and baby boom in its history. Steam shovels and bulldozers were operated with cables and pulleys. Water treatment was usually the closest river or lake and sewer jetting came with every big rainstorm (via combined sewers). Gravel streets were the norm outside of the major metropolitan cities. Road flashers were little cannonball smudge pots that were fun for little kids to throw and kick around (or so I heard!). Snowfalls were heavier, deeper, more frequent and our predecessors had to walk 10 miles to work, uphill both ways! The American Public Works Association (APWA) was formally established on January 1, 1937 through the merger of the American Society of Municipal Engineers (ASME) and the International Association of Public Works Officials (IAPWO). The records show that the first individual from Minnesota to be registered in one of these organizations was George Shepard in 1924. As the years passed, more people were joining the various national organizations and by 1944, there was an interest in organizing a group of individuals from Minnesota. This group organized as the Public Works Section of the League of Municipalities. As this newly established group met at the League of Municipalities annual meetings, it became apparent that they would best benefit by its involvement in the recently created national organization of APWA. In 1946, at the League of Municipalities meeting in Brainerd (Grandview Lodge?), the Public Works Group met and made application with the national office of APWA. At the national APWA Congress in Ft. Worth, Texas in the fall of 1946, The APWA Executive Board approved the application and we officially became the Minnesota Chapter of APWA. The first officers were: President Frank McKellip, City of Faribault; Vice-President Phillip Smith, City of Edina; and Secretary/Treasurer W. M. Somero, City of Ely.  In recognition of our long and storied history, the Minnesota Chapter, Executive Committee and Board of Directors officially created the History Committee in 2007 to help preserve our records, celebrate our heritage and document the activities of our Chapter for future posterity. The initial members of the History Committee were Tom Colbert, Dave Skelton, Charlie Honchell, Jim Gates, Dale Tranter, Angela Popenhagen, Kathy Young, Rick Person, Gerry Butcher, Lloyd Pauly and Gary Warren.  

Stay tuned.......better yet, STAY INVOLVED!!
Tom Colbert, Past President