The island was bought from private holders in 1905 by the
National Electric Lamp Association (NELA), hence the island's name.
It was used for Association management meetings, and the tradition
was retained and expanded when NELA was acquired by General Electric
in 1911.
Excerpt of Playboy interview of Kurt Vonnegut about GE's Association
Island. In his book Player Piano, Vonnegut tells anecdotes about GE's
island meetings and contrasts it with today's "Meadows" in California.
In 1959, GE donated Association Island to the YMCA.
The island was sold in 1999 to become a private resort
for recreational vehicles, where you can read about its later
history
and see more recent
photos.
