It is a celebration 100 years in the making and over two years in the planning.
The Village of Barons will be celebrating 100 years of history as a municipality this summer on the weekend of July 9 to 11, traditionally Sports Day weekend in the community.
Barons 2010, an organization working under the umbrella of the Village of Barons, has been working in co-operation with the Barons and District Historical Society to bring together photographs, histories, stories and information about the village while also organizing events for the celebration weekend.
“Everyone whose lived here, everyone who lives here now is invited,” said Barb Gullickson who is co-chairing the 100 year celebration with Peggy Kiemele.
Barons actually turned 100 last Thursday, May 6 being the day of incorporation as a municipality in 1910.
The first round of invitation for the summer celebration event were sent out about a year ago and already 185 people have confirmed they will be attending.
The co-chairs are also working with vice-chair Betty Anne Turner, secretary Deanna Fraser and treasurer Dee Ryrie. They, along with a host of other volunteers, have been meeting twice a week at the local Barons History Centre to pull together the history of the community.
“There are so many things we have to take care of,” said Gullickson who has been surprised by the number of volunteers who have stepped forward to make the celebration a reality.
In all over 20 volunteers have been working on the Barons history and the celebration weekend.
“It’s all coming together,” said Ryrie. “It will be a party.”
The work on the history of the community will continue long after the celebration is over. The historical society has been working on a decade book, which relates the history of Barons by decades over its 100 years of existence. A DVD of the information including photos and histories of pioneers, homesteaders and the original residents of the community is also being created.
For the celebration weekend the society is also overseeing the development of a self-guided tour of the village and a cemetery tour complete with local ghost stories.
Barons 2010 have been organizing the events for the actual celebration weekend which begin Friday, July 9 and will include a street dance, breakfast, parade, show and shine, tractor pull and the return of the famous outhouse race.
A special celebration choir is also in the works with plans to perform both Saturday and Sunday of the celebration weekend. Time has also been set aside for family reunions and other get togethers over the weekend.
Also taking part in the parade are two special participants, both 100 years old, who will have a place of honour in the parade. Jay Murray calls Barons home and Edgar Dunning, son of the publisher of the former Barons Globe, will be returning to the community for the celebration.
Those who are interested in the history of Barons can stop in at the History Centre, take in the school tours or check out the heritage quilt display at the seniors centre. Gullickson said one of interesting items to turn up during the organization of the village’s history was a 1924 photograph of Railway Avenue.
No one knew it existed until Ron Toso told a neighbour in Okotoks he was moving to Barons and the neighbour offered him the photograph which Toso then donated to the historical society.
“It’s really something,” said society member Therese Munroe.
In order to prepare for the celebration weekend organizers are asking those wishing to attend to pre-register before May 15. For more information contact Turner at 403-757-2370 or Gullickson at 403-757-2229.