2024 PLATES
The plates are being issued in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Smith Wilkes Hall and the 150th anniversary of Chautauqua Institution.
The last plates were issued in
1999 in celebration of the 125th anniversary of Chautauqua.
In 1924, "Bird and Tree Club Vice President Smith Wilkes decided she was going to give back to the institution that had given her so much joy throughout her childhood. According to local historian and Daily columnist Mary Lee Talbot’s book, 100 Years of Beauty: A History of the Chautauqua Bird, Tree & Garden Club, Smith Wilkes pledged $25,000 — almost $350,000 today — to be used to build a new amphitheater-style building for the club to use as a home base for their programs." - Zachary Lloyd, The Chautauquan Daily 2014
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