BABY BOOMER ALERT: Does Anybody Remember The Community Chest Red Feather?

Whatever happened the the big Community Chest Red Feather that was always in the main square of every town and village across the land during the 1950s and 1960s?

Well, I had no idea that the Community Chest of my youth overtime morphed into today's United Way! The first Community Chest charitable fundraiser was organized in Cleveland, Ohio in 1913.  This group gave local businesses and citizens an opportunity to donate to a single group which then dispensed the money to various charities around the community.  The symbol was a giant red feather "thermometer" which kept track of the gathering donations.  By 1929 there was 350 Community Chest communities and by World War II more than 1,000 places featured the giant red feather.

The name "Community Chest" was phased out in 1963 and slowly it became The United Way.  The fundraising purpose, to assist local charities, has remained the same however.

The Community Chest was promoted heavily on old time radio shows like "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and "Fibber McGee and Molly."

There is one community that still clings to the old name.  Concord, Massachusetts still has a "Community Chest Red Feather" in their downtown area!