Vermilion County Honors ‘Uncle Joe’ Cannon

Former Speaker of the House from Danville 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 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5th, kicking off a dedication ceremony for the Joseph G. Cannon Building located at 201 North Vermilion Street in Danville and currently houses many county offices.

Friday night’s activities will be part of Danville’s First Friday activities that evening, ‘Sweets in the Streets’ featuring a cruise-in with 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 a dedication ceremony at 6:00 p.m. the public will get to tour the Joseph G. Cannon Building, previously known as the Vermilion County Administration Building.

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 6, with several historical artifacts regarding Cannon’s years in Congress are located in the Vermilion County Museum.

Across the street from where the Joseph G. Cannon Building 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.