Stratton kicks off centennial party next Tuesday

Ken Johnston
Editor

100 years is a milestone that everyone recognizes and next Tuesday it will be marked in Stratton where the community will begin more than a month of festivities.
The town Council there has planned and afternoon of events for July 1st to mark the town’s official date of incorporation, July 1, 1903.
At 1 p.m. there will be a dedication ceremony at the Municipal Building. That will be followed by a special performance by the Ontario Provincial Police’s famous Golden Helmets Motorcycle Drill Team at the area of the junction of Hwys. 11 and 617.
Refreshments will follow at the Millennium Hall.
A month later the three year efforts of the Stratton Centennial Committee will be realized when they host four days of fun filled events to celebrate the centennial.
Committee member Moe Henry and Chairman Telford Advent said, “Stratton is the place to be in 2003!” The big tent has been ordered and it will definitely tell people of the big party to be held there!
The weekend begins with registration at the Millennium Hall Friday, August 1st. There will be live entertainment. Many folks have already registered with the township and this will be there opportunity to pick up their registration packages which include all their meal tickets for the weekend and a whole bunch of fun stuff to keep and utilize during the weekend.
Saturday morning the busiest day of the weekend gets underway with pancake breakfast.
The parade will start marshalling around 9 a.m. and will get underway at 10 a.m. Entries for it are coming in fast and more are needed. Anyone interested in entering should call Delores Romyn 483-5339, Julie Smits 483-5303, Fran Anderson 483-5547 or Candy Greengrass 483-1252.
Rod Salchert is boasting that Stratton will be home to the largest antique tractor/machinery display in Northwestern Ontario history. That will get underway after the parade. Anyone interested in entering should call Rod at 274-9567 or Murray Gemmell at 483-5825.
A giant flea market and craft show will be held at Our Lady of the Way School. Space is filling up fast so call Diane Stafford to book yours today at 483-5585.
The grand opening ceremonies for the party will be held at 11 a.m. with numerous dedications to take place at the hall.
Throughout the afternoon kids will be entertained by magicians, clowns and other fun!
There will be an opportunity for people to get old time photos done as well as a Morley Fire Dept. display.
A music jamboree that will see The Whalens reunite and Highway 621 perform as well as lots of other local talents. “It will be like Mudd City,” said Advent. To enter an act call Gladys Jolicouer at 483-5478 or Betty Salchert at 486-3536.
There are several open houses planned at the United Church, the Stratton Drop-in Centre and the hall. The Women’s Institute will be featured at the hall.
The Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances will be hosting one of their famous steak-fries at the big tent.
A dance to Milestone will be held in the curling club that evening.
Sunday the day will begin with a pancake breakfast and at 10 a.m. there will be a 5 k.m. run/walk hosted by the Lake of the Woods Cross-country team.
At 11 a.m. there will be a non-denomination church service.
Later in the day there will be an old time baseball game featuring all the players of the original Statton Fastball team. Their opponents have yet to be named.
A farmers/loggers competition will be held that day as well as old fashioned family games.
Since there are no old school records kept the committee has had difficulty in reaching many of those who used to live in Stratton to tell them about the centennial party. There will be several events throughout the weekend geared to former Stratton students. For more information contact Dianne Vandenbrand at 483-5443.
Advent said, “I expect there will be at least a thousand extra people here that weekend.”
While the official deadline for registration is July 1st, both he and Henry said that they would accept them for while longer. But the sooner the better as meals are being planned and tshirts ordered.
They have kept the costs as affordable as possible. It is $120 for a family no matter how many kids there are and $40 for an individual. That covers all meals for the weekend and admittance to all events except the dance Sat. night.
A local history book is still getting a lot of submissions so the committee has decided to delay publishing it until the fall. It will be ready for delivery in November.
A Cook and Remedy Book is also being put together with submissions being accepted by Diane Stafford at 483-5585.
A town beautification project has been very successful with over $1,300 in donations being received to date to plant and maintain flowers in the community.
“It is coming together after three years after much thanks to the hard work of about a dozen committee members and countless others on subcommittees,” said Advent.
Advent concluded by saying, “I encourage people to get registered immediately. Its gonna be fun!”
Henry said there are people from all over the world coming. “There is some from Holland, all across Canada and maybe even Australia!”