Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of a St. Louis milestone: The swearing-in of Freeman Bosley Jr. as the city’s first African-American mayor.

To mark the occasion, Bosley and friends will gather for a reunion party tonight at the Forest Park golf clubhouse, we’re told by our friends over at PubDef.

Bosley moved into Room 200 on April 21, 1993, taking over after a dozen years of Vince Schoemehl in office.

On his swearing-in, Bosley was feted by thousands of supporters at a convention center gala, and later in the week threw the first pitch at the Cardinals game.

Bosley’s one term as mayor had its ups and downs - the Rams came to St. Louis, but his administration also weathered the Midnite Basketball scandal.

Still, the man known to friends and family as “Teeky” remains a political institution in the Arch City. He’s a go-to-man for northside politics and has helped other politicians - such as Lewis Reed, the first African-American elected Board of Alderman president - break the color barrier.

Interestingly enough, Bosley’s inaugural address included issues city leaders are still grappling with today - stabilizing neighborhoods, improving education and gaining local control of the police department.

Here’s an excerpt from the speech, given on the steps of City Hall:

In order to assure that I hear you, I will visit with residents in every ward to talk with you about your wishes, hopes and dreams for St. Louis. And one day a month, City Hall will be open for you to come talk with the mayor.

You see, the duties and responsibilities of governing this great city do not lie just with the mayor or the comptroller or the president of the Board of Aldermen, but it also lies with you. And your input and support are needed in order to assure a better and greater St. Louis.

Our jobs, our desires, our dreams, our hopes will not happen overnight. But overnight we will begin together to work and build on this mission for a better St. Louis.

Together we will work to stabilize our neighborhoods. We will work to reduce crime in our city. We will work to improve the education of our children. We will work to aggressively obtain jobs.

Our work will not be easy. We all must be willing to roll up our sleeves, we must be willing to commit and we must be willing to sacrifice to improve the quality of life in St. Louis for all St. Louis.

With rain pouring down on that spring day, Bosley ended the speech with a poem about a “little ship” daring to leave the harbor and sail where the “big ships float.”

“And should my frail craft prove too slight, for waves that sweep the billows over,” Bosley said. “I’d rather go down in a stirring fight, then drown to death at the sheltered shore.”

Bosley Jr., back when he was mayor