The Chrysler Corporation was becoming a reality and would be founded in the summer of 1925. Four years later, ground on what would become the tallest building in the world and the first to be 1000 feet straight up would begin. It would only hold the crown for 3 years before being out done by the Empire State Building in 1933.
The Scopes Monkey Trial was about to get into full swing in Tennessee (yeah, I'm having fun with words).
There was no TV, no Dallas Cowboys, and the Alamo had happened less than 100 years ago.
The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held a month after Toastmasters formed. It featured giant balloons that were released, and if found and returned would fetch nice prize money. Giant balloons and Zeppelins were the fascination, with flying machines having graduated from WWI.
The Titanic had sunk 12 years earlier, but Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic was still 3 years away.
And here it is... the Boy Scouts had been around since 1910; just 15 years old. Adolph Hitler was working on Volume 1 of his personal manifesto, Mein Kampf that would be a catalyst for WWII, and many of these Boy Scouts from 1924 would lead us through some of the world's darkest hours.
The stock market would crash in just 5 more years and through it all, the good and the bad, public speaking would remain a top fear; even a deterrent in the business world despite the hardships and the need to get ahead. Sound familiar?
Fortunately for all of us, an ingenious plan began to unfold in this building in 1924, bringing about the birth of Toastmasters on October 22 of that year.
Located in Santa Ana, California, this YMCA became home of the first club.
Oh, and how old is the YMCA? It's an astounding 171 years old getting its start back in 1844.
I'll toast to that!
Submitted by
Ken Dorsey
VP Public Relations Top of Texas
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