Top: P.E.O. float in Old Threshers parade Bottom left: Elizabeth Garrels as grand marshal Bottom right: P.E.O. hospitality tent
The stars were aligned over Mount Pleasant, Iowa, during the 60th annual reunion of Midwest Old Threshers held September 1-6, 2010. Mount Pleasant is not only the hometown of Old Threshers, but also the birthplace of the P.E.O. Sisterhood at Iowa Wesleyan College and the residence of our current International P.E.O. president, Elizabeth Garrels. What a perfect opportunity for the five chapters in Henry County, Iowa, to unite and invite our P.E.O. sisters to experience both their agricultural and their P.E.O. heritage simultaneously.
While it was fun to showcase Old Threshers, Iowa Wesleyan College and the P.E.O. Sisterhood in this one-of-a-kind summer celebration, it was also a great opportunity for the five local chapters—Chapters Original A, NZ and OX in Mount Pleasant, Chapter EV in New London, and Chapter GT in Winfield—to become better acquainted. As one of our sisters from Chapter EV summarized, “The best part of the Old Threshers project may have been bringing all the Henry County chapters together.”
During the 12-month planning process, representatives from each of the chapters met at Iowa Wesleyan College to discuss ideas and report back to their respective chapters. Volunteers from each chapter signed up to ride in the opening day parade representing our seven founding sisters, serve as hostesses in our hospitality tent, bake cookies and provide fresh flower arrangements, staff each of the chapters’ marketplace tables, make star-shaped name tags for our volunteers, sell specially designed P.E.O. t-shirts, conduct tours of the Memory Rooms at Iowa Wesleyan College and offer housing for our out-of-town P.E.O. visitors. More than 100 volunteers were actively involved; it could not have been done without everyone’s cooperation and participation.
P.E.O.s dressed in pinafore aprons representing the seven Founders
During the opening day parade, Elizabeth Garrels served as parade marshal. Chapters from surrounding communities and states were in the crowd to cheer as her yellow convertible and our seven founding sisters wearing white pinafores passed by.
During the reunion we welcomed P.E.O. guests (including BILS and other family members) from more than 17 different states. Many were first-time visitors to Mount Pleasant and contributed to the 12 percent increase in overall attendance during the five-day event. We hope they enjoyed their experience as much as we enjoyed hosting them. The stars are destined to be aligned again next September 2011, when our P.E.O. sisters are invited to visit Mount Pleasant following the P.E.O. International Convention in Saint Louis. Your P.E.O. sisters in Henry County, Iowa, will eagerly await your arrival. 
