Seventy-five years ago this month, George A. Hormel & Company produced the first can of Spam luncheon meat. And as the company now known as Hormel Foods Corp. prepares to honor the brand (and its corporate expansion) with a “Spamtastic” celebration on Saturday, we encourage Austin to do the same.

The little can of “spiced ham” has carried this town of 24,718 for three-quarters of a century. As Hormel approaches 8 billion cans sold, much of its success, and in turn this town’s, can be attributed to Spam. The name, now synonymous with unsolicited emails, helped make Hormel a Fortune 500 company. Now at 327 on the Fortune 500 list, Hormel employs 1,600 plant workers and 800 corporate office employees, while Quality Pork Processors employs 1,300 workers, all in Austin.

So as Hormel pays homage to Spam, the Herald tempts Austinites to attend the festivities starting at 4 p.m. Saturday at 1 Hormel Place.