MINNEAPOLIS—Walman celebrated its 100th anniversary last month with a weekend-long series of events in its hometown of Minneapolis. The festivities, which took place Sept. 25 to 27, included a tour of Walman’s recently re-engineered OSC (Optical Service Center) lab, a cocktail party at the historic Mill City Museum, a picnic and the 9th annual Twin Cities VisionWalk, a fundraiser for the Foundation for Fighting Blindness.

The events brought together current and former Walman employees and their families, vendors and assorted well-wishers.Walman was founded in 1915 by J.A.L. Walman, an optician and jeweler. The company, now owned by its employees, grew to become the largest independent optical wholesaler in the U.S., with estimated net sales of $320 million this year.

Walman’s Marty Bassett welcomes guests to Walman’s centennial cocktail party at Minneapolis’ Mill City Museum. Denny Hall (l) and David Meisenheimer, both of DAC Vision, were among the vendors who attended the celebration. Behind them are the ruins of the historic Washburn A flour mill. Longtime Walman executive Pat Patterson (l), now
retired, with his wife Katie and Essilor’s Bob Colucci.
Guests mingle at the Mill City Museum. A view of the surfacing department at Walman’s Optical Service Center, which produces as many as 5,000 prescription jobs a day. Neil Torgersen, who manages the OSC’s coating center, explains how Crizal lenses are produced.