1888
In January of 1888, a group of gentlemen held a dinner at a private club in St. Paul, Minnesota to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This wartime executive order, issued by President Lincoln, freed the slaves in the Confederacy. The menu for the event included not only the bill of fare and list of toasts but also a remarkable seating chart. This chart featured the names of participants as well as leaders who were remembered for their roles in the struggle for freedom, symbolically present in spirit.
