News

By Ron Hayes

    At noon on Aug. 26, 1964 — 50 years ago this month — a small group of men and women gathered at the Chamber of Commerce building to make history — and to make history matter.
    With Ethel S. Williams as president and Roy C. Diggans as vice president, the Delray Beach Historical Society adopted its charter, establishing a nonprofit organization committed to “the organization and preservation of records to form a definite and authentic history of the city of Delray Beach.”
    Fifty years later, those records number more than 10,000 items, they’re housed on a campus of three historic buildings and the Delray Beach Historical Society is ready to sing “Happy Birthday.”
    “We’ll be having a 50th birthday party this Aug. 26 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m., and the entire community is invited,” says Winnie Edwards, the society’s executive director and daughter of founding member Roy Diggans.
    The party, which is free, will feature pineapple cake and punch in the courtyard, kicking off “The Golden Pineapple Jubilee,” a six-month celebration and membership drive culminating in a gala fundraising dinner in December.
    The Delray Beach Historical Society is at 3 NE First Street.
    For more information, call 274-9578.