By Ed Shannon, staff writer

On June 5, 1917, Albert Lea celebrated an event named Registration Day. This special occasion nine decades ago was a combination of patriotic display and a time for the city&8217;s young men to sign up for possible service in the nation&8217;s armed forces.

The nation had become fully involved in World War I on April 6, 1917, with a declaration

of war with Imperial Germany. As a result, the U.S. had the challenge to mobilize and enlarge its armed forces.

In May the decision was made to hold a special one-time event called Registration Day

on June 5. On this date all men between the ages of 21 and 31 would be required to sign up in the new Selective Service System, the military draft.

Albert Lea Mayor William Wohlhuter signed a proclamation several days earlier, which declared in part: &8220; … Let all business be suspended so far as possible and business places be closed from 1 p.m. for the remainder of the day. Every church, club, organization and individual is earnestly requested to participate in marching and patriotic exercises befitting the occasion. Let Old Glory fly from every flag pole and the celebration continue unremittingly throughout the entire day and evening.&8221;

To help prepare the young men for the registration process, the Tribune printed the questions to be asked by the people filling out the forms in two separate editions. The dozen questions were based on name, address, date and place of birth, citizenship status, trade or occupation, place of employment, married or single, race, if anyone was a dependent, and previous military service.

The last major question asked was intended in part for people belonging to religious groups such as Mennonites, Amish, Quakers and Hutterites who would request exemption from serving in the armed forces because of their pacifist beliefs.

What took place on Tuesday, June 5, nine decades ago was described by the Tribune as the &8220;Greatest patriotic demonstration ever witnessed in Albert Lea.&8221; Events started at 1 p.m. with a series of parades on Broadway Avenue. The first parade was comprised of members of the city&8217;s churches and Sunday schools. This was followed by a parade featuring the fraternal organizations then very active in Albert Lea. At 3 p.m. the Business Men&8217;s League (the predecessor of the present Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce) had its own special parade.

During the early evening on what had evolved into a day with perfect weather, the grand parade took place. Participating in this parade were the 600 young men who had registered in the new draft during the afternoon.

The focal pit for this particular observance was a temporary outdoor speaker&8217;s stand and stage at the corner of Broadway Avenue and East William Street. Music for the day&8217;s activities and parades was provided by the Albert Lea High School Orchestra and Band, what was called the &8220;old Albert Lea Band,&8221; a quartet of male singers and several vocal duets and soloists. And all during the afternoon and early evening several prominent local people gave eloquent patriotic speeches.

The Tribune commented in the June 6, 1917 issue, &8220;We doubt if any city in the State of Minnesota, or of the northwest, turned out better than did the citizens of Albert Lea.&8221;

However, during the first several months after the nation became involved in World War I, and before the Selective Service System (the draft) became fully operational, about 500 young men from Freeborn County decided to volunteer for military service in either the army or navy.

After the young men of the city and county had registered in the Selective Service System, there came a process of medical examinations by a panel of local doctors, draft classifications, and the assigning of numbers to the individuals for use in later lottery selections to send men off for induction into the military services.

The first group of draftees, 14 in number, left Albert Lea on a passenger train on Sept. 8, 1917. And by the end of World War I in November 1918, a total of 750 men were sent off to serve in the nation&8217;s armed forces by the Freeborn County Selective Service Board.

Many of the young men from Freeborn County served in France or on the high seas during World War I. On the memorial monument at Graceland Cemetery are etched the names of 60 soldiers and sailors from the county who died during 1917 and 1918. Of this number, 28 died as the result of combat action. The remaining 32 casualties died from diseases, mostly from influenza during a world-wide epidemic, and as the result of accidents.