About 80 persons strolled around the courthouse square Sunday and heard presentations about seven nominees to be honored with a bronze plaque on one of the brick pedestals.
Nominees were newspaper editor Victor Hugo Lovejoy, longtime editor of The Bee; Spring Lake and its nearly 90 years as a recreation destination; Milligan Brothers Lumber, Grain & Coal, which was formed in 1905 by David Milligan; attorney Elma Gates Albert, who served as chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court; Azor Mills, long-lived school teacher, Civil War veteran, politician and businessman; Yankee Robinson, circus performer and promoter who died in Jefferson under the care of local Masons; and Beta Tau Delta, which formed in 1917 as a sorority and has continued as an independent women’s organization since the national sorority disbanded.
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The nomination plaque walk was a collaborative effort of Jefferson Matters: Main Street and the Historical Society. All who attended the walk were invited to vote for which nominee they would like to see honored with funds available for one new plaque. Beta Tau Delta was selected. The Milligan family has also donated funds for the Milligan Brothers plaque, so two new plaques will be added in the coming months.
