The simple life of the first settlers, devoid of most of the comforts and luxuries we prize so dearly today, will be unfolded in a number of events planned for Centennial week.

Spectators will see much of the pioneer life in downtown windows to be unveiled Monday night. They will see it in modes of travel and transport in the transportation parade Wednesday.

The historical parade Thursday will be a panorama of Mason City's past, as will also the Women's Club drama, "Our Century."

THE story of these 100 years isn't merely the history of a city. It is also the record of the remarkable progress man has made in numerous fields the past century. Inventions and discoveries have brought more changes in this century than in all of man's previous experience.

These new discoveries, wonder as they appear, may not be the greatest contribution of these last 100 years. There are other qualities in the eternal scheme of things that might be just as important.

There is, for example, the fact that after the passage of 100 years the sturdy attributes of the pioneers stand out vividly today through the maze of years and the storm and stress of change that have revolutionized our way of living.

These men and women who settled in Mason City and other communities in this area believed in certain principles that stand the test of the ages, against which the tides and backwashes of material progress have had little effect.

What are these qualities?

We can name some of them.

THESE men of 100 years ago had great personal courage. Their willingness to brave the uncertainties of the prairie proved that.

They were humble. The dared not be otherwise.

The inexorable forces of the wilderness compelled humility.

They were individuals of the most rugged type. They wanted to stand on their own feet as free men.

They had integrity and they demanded honesty in government. They wanted a decent community.

They believed in the due process of law in handling law violators and were willing to take to arms to maintain that system.

They were God-fearing men who believed the resources of the spirit are among man's greatest assets.

They had abounding faith in the future of their community.

They were strong men, conscious of their strength, willing to use it not only to further their own interests, but also that of their community.

They were willing to sacrifice of the fruits of their toil for the common good to build a better future.

WE know that man has certain inherent traits in all times, that innate qualities of greed and selfishness and brutality crop up in every age and it did back in Mason City's early life.

This place on the map wasn't always a tranquil scene. There is every evidence that it was a dynamic community that underwent upheavals of turbulent political fights and factional strife.

But, by the large, we can look back to the city's early dwellers with admiration and pride. They had qualities that could well be emulated today.

AS we celebrate the 100th birthday of our town, Mason Cityans can well use the occasion for self-examination and ask ourselves whether in the easy, soft life of moder times we have lost some of the force, the resourcefulness and the faith that motivated the lives of the first settlers.

Mason City, looking forward to a new century, can, if it will, take unto itself renewed strength and revitalize its community life by a study of the lives of the pioneers.

This issue of the Globe-Gazette had made an effort to present their story.

Many of the principles men lived by 75 and 100 years ago have values that will never die.

Mason City can learn much about the future by a careful scrutiny of the past.
~ EAN.

To THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEES AND CONTRIBUTORS - for their contributions of time and funds to stage the giant Centennial program. Funds came from business and professional men in the city and hundreds of men and woman made up the committee that prepared the program.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2014