In this paper several of the early workers in the field of system dynamics tell both a consensus story of how the System Dynamics Society came into being over 25 years ago and some of the early history of the Society itself. Several slightly different versions of this story have been told over the past several years and we thought it would be fun to involve a broader group in this kind of modified oral history project. The paper is based on a series of separate recollections that have been posted in full on the web at http://www.systemdynamics.org/history/oral_history.htm Keywords: System Dynamics Society, history, founding, volunteering, Dynamica, constitution, early conferences