A former Speaker of the House from Danville (Illinois) is being remembered with some special activities set for May 5th and 6th.
Joseph G Cannon’s career in Congress spanned nearly five decades and he served as Speaker of the House from 1903 to 1911. A Joseph G Cannon Commemorative Committee has been planning special activities to honor Cannon. Those activities will be taking place in both downtown Danville and at the Vermilion County Museum.
The Danville Barbershop Chorus will sing the National Anthem at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5th, kicking off a dedication ceremony for the Joseph G. Cannon Building. It is at 201 North Vermilion Street in Danville and currently houses many county offices.
The Cannon Commemorative Committee says there will also be a ‘Sweets in the Steeets Cruise-In’ featuring cars from every era. The first 500 attendees at the dedication ceremony will receive a sample of Uncle Joe’s favorite candy – ”Chuckles”, which was made in Danville at the time. The Vermilion Voles Vintage Baseball Team will also demonstrate the style of baseball back then.
Following the dedication ceremony the public will get to tour the Joseph G. Cannon Building, previously known as the Vermilion County Administration Building.
Friday night’s activities will be part of Danville’s First Friday activities that evening.
More activities honoring Cannon are set for Saturday, May 6th – including a ‘Do You Know Joe?’ 5-K Walk/Run that will start at Danville’s Lincoln Park and end at the Vermilion County Museum. The museum will have an open house Saturday morning (May 6th).
Several historical artifacts regarding Cannon’s years in Congress are located in the Vermilion County Museum.
”Joseph Cannon was a giant in the history of the United States, and one of the most powerful and influential legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Illinois State Representative Mike Marron. ”It is a source of great pride that he was from right here in Danville. We need to celebrate that legacy and keep his memory alive for generations to come,” added Marron. He is serving as chairman of the committee planning events to honor Cannon.
It is the intension of the Joseph G. Cannon Commemorative Committee to make sure the current generation does not forget him.
A school along East Main Street in Danville was named after Cannon but has since been demolished. The Cannon Office Building in Washington, D.C. was also named to honor the Congressman from Danville.
Across the street from where the Joseph G. Cannon will be dedicated in Danville on May 5th is a mural painted on the side of a building when the Walldogs were in Danville. It depicts Cannon when he appeared on the front cover of the very first Time Magazine one-hundred years ago – on March 4, 1923.
