Glenella throws big homecoming and Canada 150 bash
- Details
- Published on Monday, August 28, 2017
By Adrene Schmidt
Submitted
Months of planningseemed to be well worth it, as Glenella was abuzz with excitement for its Homecoming and Canada 150 celebration. The festivities, held Aug. 4-6, began Friday evening with registration and an open stage for those who wished to sing, tell jokes or share a story. There was popcorn, drinks and a movie for the children at the sports arena, coffee, muffins or something a bit stronger at the hall for the adults. Campers were arriving to get their spots in the grounds next to friends or maybe old neighbours.
Saturday morning began with a pancake breakfast in the hall. Then it was parade time! With so many participants; the floats, cars, machinery etc had to be organized in three different locations and coordinated by walkie-talkies. Mounted on horseback our parade leaders, Ashley Henton and Kylee Heudebourck, were the Canadian flag bearers, followed by the RCMP, then our MLA Eileen Clarke and Reeve Richard Funk. Followed by our honorary female resident, Ruth Bohn, next was our honorary male resident, Kurt Schmidt, who is one of the past reeves of the RM of Glenella, all riding in restored cars provided by Eveline and Ben Delaurie.
An original banner from Grass Marsh School, 1952-1965, was carried by Stephanie and Alyssa Lukin, the great-granddaughters of Eileen Witt, who constructed the banner for school sports day parades that were held in Glenella every June. Next was the original Game and Fish banner, dated 1957, Scouts Canada were right behind. Next a mix of restored vehicles, tractors with machinery in tow and horse drawn equipment. There were floats from local businesses, churches, family farms and homesteads; the hometown green team decked out the mower, there were horse and buggies with ladies dressed in period clothing, mini horses and even a motorized steerable picnic table, but of course, what parade wouldn’t be complete without the fire truck, rescue van and the grader? The imagination and participation made our parade a spectacular event, our entries totalled 60!
Following the parade, everyone went to the main street where the opening ceremonies took place. After singing O Canada Eileen Clarke and Richard Funk spoke briefly and then a Canada 150 cake was cut and given out. Local musical entertainment followed while people mingled and had lunch.
Glenella School held their reunion in conjunction with our celebration and they drifted off to the arena where they held their own activities Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday afternoon saw a history bus tour north of Glenella to see the old Ukrainian Catholic churches. This was narrated and guided by Susan and Scott Puhach, there were rave reviews from those who went. Our thrashing demo, headed up by Ron Mitchler, Sig Pfahl and Edwin Single, took place about the same time and included some audience participation. Our seniors’ center held a display of memorabilia from surrounding communities, with an old curling photo from 1948-49 that we hoped people could provide names for. Escape the Final Countdown attended with their portable escape room. Bouncy obstacle course, face painting, tattoos and the playgrounds kept the younger ones occupied. Horse drawn wagon rides provided by the McDonald family were kept busy all afternoon, as well as the mini horse rides provided by the Scott family.
Visiting and reacquainting was the most important aspect of the weekend, for some it had been 40 years since they had returned to Glenella. The close of registration, before supper, showed 576 signatures in our registry, there were numerous other people who attended for the day to help us celebrate our homecoming and Canada 150 celebrations such as Grass River and Parkview Colonies, who were well represented. Addresses of those in attendance crossed Canada and down into the USA.
Evening started with PJ the DJ entertaining the younger ones in the hall, followed by the adult social and dance to close out the day.
Sunday morning opened with a pancake breakfast catered by Glenella United Church. Following that, was the children’s parade for ages 10 and under, sponsored by Beautiful Plains Credit Union, with 67 participants who all received a goodie bag for dressing up or decorating their bikes.
The church service in the park was well attended, with people picking a comfortable spot to enjoy this joint effort of Glenella United and Christ Lutheran Waldersee.
Another history bus tour took place, with Tenby School and Christ Lutheran Church in Waldersee as their destinations. These were looked after by volunteers from each place. Afternoon was spent visiting and watching the baseball games at the sports grounds.
Evening brought out fire pits for ambiance, a hotdog barbeque and musical entertainment. Days end was a magnificent fireworks show handled by the Glenella fire department.
Thanks to all the attendees and sponsors who helped make this a wonderful weekend for all!
