Carroll County Old Settlers Association will have its 153rd annual meeting at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Delphi United Methodist Church. Registration begins at 12:30.

The meeting will also celebrate the 180th anniversary of the founding of Carroll County in 1828. Earliest settlement of the area was near Delphi in 1824, and in 1828, General Samuel Milroy presented a petition for the formation of Carroll County.

Carroll County Old Settlers Association is believed to be the oldest continuing organization of its kind in the United States.

The first meeting of Old Settlers was held Aug. 4, 1855, at the Milroy woods near Delphi. The purpose was to collect the memories of those settlers who arrived prior to 1831 and to preserve that history.

Meetings have been held the second Saturday in August every year since 1855. As many as 10,000 people used to attend. After Milroy woods and Lenon woods, and the courthouse square, the meetings were held for many years at the Delphi City Park shelter house, then at the high school, and back at the courthouse. For the past several years, they have been held at the Delphi United Methodist Church.

Over the years, the meetings have had special programs, including a celebration of the Centennial in 1955 and the 150th anniversary in 2005.

This year's program will be provided by storyteller Doyne Carson of Battle Ground. She will tell stories of early Indiana. She has been a storyteller for 22 years and performs for audiences of all ages at schools, festivals, meetings, and other social occasions. She received training from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A cofounder of the Tippecanoe Storytellers Guild, she offers workshops in the art of storytelling.

Awards will be given at the meeting for Oldest Man, Old- est Woman, Youngest Child, and Traveled Farthest Dist ance. These recognitions go back to the very early history of the organization.

The Old Settlers Association Heritage Awards also will be presented. These awards were begun in 2000 to honor "deserving persons, families, organizations, or entities that have significantly endeavored to enhance, promote, preserve, and protect the heritage of Carroll County's past."

Bob Conner will read the new First Families members and those from the Second Wave. First Families are those who ancestors resided in Carroll County sometime between 1824 and Aug. 1, 1855. Second Wave ancestors lived in Carroll County before the end of 1900. These awards are administered by the Carroll County Historical Society Museum.

Debbie Glenn will provide vocal music, and her husband, Pastor William Glenn of the First Baptist Church of Delphi will give the invocation and benediction.

Dr. Tom Brodar of the Delphi American Legion will present the colors and lead the pledge of allegiance.

Teresa Maxwell will present the nominating committee report. A new office, Historian, will be created for the purpose of accumulating and preserving Old Settlers records and keeping them in a permanent place. Anyone who has Old Settlers minutes, photos, or other memorabilia is asked to take them to this year's meeting or give them to the association's president, Billie Hedde, or vice president, Bonnie Maxwell.