1911
On October 26, 1911, President Taft visited the City of Green Bay. As an estimated crowd of 15,000 congregated on the south wing of the Court House lawn, Mayor Winford Abrams introduced the President of the United States. President Taft spoke to the crowd about "the radification of peace treaty, to avoid war in the future." The President spent and hour and a half in Green Bay.

Both the Green Bay Gazette and The Green Bay Herald carried articles on the front page that day.

1913
The one hundred year celebration of Commodore Perry’s victory over the British in Lake Erie was celebrated in Green Bay. (The war of 1812 was an attempt by the British to regain the colonies). Perry’s victory over the British in Lake Erie played a role in the result of the war. Many communities on the Great Lakes participated in the festivities; in addition a full size replica of Perry’s ship, The Niagara, was taken to ports around the Great Lakes.

1918
Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. Although a gray and rainy day in Green Bay, the mood of the community was one of relief and joy that the war had ended. It was one of the greatest celebrations that Green Bay had seen up to that point.

1919
Austin E. Cofrin began Fort Howard Paper Company. A privately owned company until 1972, Fort Howard eventually became part of Fort James then the company was purchased by Georgia-Pacific.

1919
Perhaps the most famous event for the city occurred this year. Earl “Curly” Lambeau engineered the creation of the now famous Green Bay Packers. At a meeting on August 11, 1919, Curly Lambeau and some husky young athletes met with George Calhoun of the Press Gazette in the editorial office room of the old building on Cherry Street and organized a football team.

Lambeau worked as a shipping clerk for $250.00/month at the Indian Packing Company. He talked his employer into putting up money for jerseys. Because the company provided jerseys and permitted the use of it’s athletic field for practice, the new club was identified in its early publicity as a project of the company. The name “Packer” was a natural and the Packers they have been ever since.

In their first season they saw 10 wins and one loss against challengers from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Those first games were played on an open field with no seating. Interested fans “passed the hat” for player pay.

By 1921 the team was so successful that Lambeau was backed by two officials of the packing plant in obtaining a franchise in the new national pro football league. Due to lack of cash customers the team had to be forfeited by year’s end.

The following year Lambeau gained other backers and bought the franchise back for $250, including $50 of his own money.