In three words, University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley would say Memorial Union is "everyone's favorite place."

To mark the Union's 100th birthday this past weekend, current board members honored past Union officials in a dinner Friday to remember the organization's history and celebrate its future.

"Because of you, we hold these values dear to our heart," Union President John Barnhardt said to a crowd of former Union presidents, trustees and directors. "It's not about what happened, but about how the Wisconsin Union affected you."

According to Union Film Director Erin Hallbauer, the event recognizes the Union organization that existed years before the building's construction, and most of the event's attendees were past students who held student Union positions.

The event began in the Main Lounge with cocktail hour, as a classical trio played to the scene of elegant dresses and suits, candlelit buffets and dim lighting.

"I just love the Union — it's a great place for the students, faculty and staff," said Jeffrey Bartell, a member of the UW System Board of Regents. "I grew up in Madison and I've been coming here since I was a toddler, so it's a real pleasure to be able to celebrate this milestone."

Various posters displayed the Union's values and achievements, such as the "Service to State and Nation" and the Hoofers' table, where scrapbooks documented the organization's history with newspaper articles and crinkled photographs.

"It was very exciting for me because among those attending were those I've worked with throughout the years," former Union President Ted Crabb said. "It was like a wonderful birthday party. It was a very stimulating and rewarding time."

When Crabb first came to Madison in 1950, he said he had supper at the Union Terrace and watched the sailboats, thinking, "How could this be any better?" He became the Union president his senior year in college, and served as the Union director for 32 years.

Wiley agreed the Union is a place central to student life.

"I was a student here myself, you know," Wiley said. "The Union was really the only place that had a TV back then, and we would all gather and watch CBS news in this same room. People would yell things at the screen. It was just a big social gathering."

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, former UW President Glenn Frank kicked off the Union's construction in 1923, as he dug the first shovel of dirt before a crowd of more than 5,000. In 1933, the Board of Regents approved the sale of beer in the campus Rathskeller, which, according to Wiley, hasn't changed since he can remember.

Since then, the Union has sponsored hundreds of shows and exhibits ranging from the "Wisconsin Salon of Art" show in 1934, to a speech by Robert Frost in 1961. Anybody who is anybody has played at the Wisconsin Union, Wiley said.

"I always think about how many of the different people that walk through these hallways, and how the stairs are worn in some places because of so many people walking up it," Dean of Students Lori Berquam said. "It makes me proud to be walking in the same space that other, wonderful groups of students have walked. I just know that this is the place that has really helped shape our students."

According to former Union President Shayna Hetzel, the 100-year anniversary celebration was also meant to look forward to the Union's next 100 years.

In 2009, Union South will be torn down to accommodate a larger eco-friendly building and maybe an outdoor amphitheater or park, Hetzel said. According to Wiley, the new Union terrace will be an anchor to a restored arts and humanities corridor, and extend to Regent Street.

 "The Union is one of those things where we can look through those front doors and think, 'Yeah, this is where I belong,'" Berquam said.