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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-07-24, Page 23The Kincordino News 'Ripley Reunion 'SW Page 3 Welcome to Reunon!85 Special souvenir edition Iooks at this year's/get together To all Ripley Reunion '85 participants: It has been with great pleasure the en- tire staff of The ' Kincardine News has created this souvenir edition on behalf of the Reunion Committee. We have attempted to capture the historic flavor of the village and the township as well as bring visitors up to date on activities here since the last Reu- ' nion in 1975. A special article has been written about the activities in the last .Reunion 10 years ago. that" many of you will recall having taken part in. The 1952 Reunion is also outlined. Throughout this issue., .we have taken a close look at some of the historic events of - the past 100 years, and have briefly discussed local beef rings and radio forums. The "dark day" in Ripley is, also recalled. Gladys Arnold, an 80 year old native of the township, relates on a personal level how the area has, developed, how it has changed and where she sees it is going in the future. Look for her friendly article inside that sums up in her own words what growing up in Ripley and Huron Township is all about. Past 10 years of growing This: special edition also examines developments in the past 10 years. You will learn aboutthe work that went on behind • the scenes to establish the new medical- , dental offices in the village. You will read about the large number of new stores and businesses that have opened here... You will also learn about the closing, of the Ripley District School and how things have changed here since 1975. Photographs of the, majorbuildings and sites to: see in Ripley have also been pro- vided here, along, with different views of • the main street. Official program of events You have come back to Ripley and the township to celebrate and there are hun- dreds of events to. take part in while you are here. The official program for the Reunion ac- tivities is included in this issue and'you can use these pages to check off the events you want to attend. The program kicks off Thursday night with a live Wintario drawing, when 1000's are expected to•attend to see the show. Local talent shows and performers will be taking part in the program and a sell out crowd is expected. Don't forget to buy a ticket on the draw - you might be a winner live on.television! Of big interest to everyone is the official unveiling of the• new history book "Families and Farms of Huron. with its hub- Ripley." It will be available forsale at 10:00 pm Thurs., Aug. 1 immediately. following the Wintario show. The book con- tains 400 pages and over 1,000 photographs with research on every farm. Friday night there is a fiddlers jamboree in the township hall and two dances for teens and adults. Saturday there is a "back to school" get together in . the morning followed by the mammoth parade at 12:30 pm. The official "welcome will be made at 2 :00 pm. • More dances again Saturday night. Sunday there is a .church serviceat the Ripley' District School in the morning and the big bed race in the afternoon. " The pageant with the theme "The Time of Our Lives" will .be held at the township hall grounds Sunday night at 8:00 pm. This is a wrap up of Ripley and Township events in the past 10 years with speakers, slides and -skits. And, of course, there is the shirt tail. parade Sunday night followed by a street dance at 12: 05 am. Monday wraps up the, big weekend but you won't want to go home early. A tug-of- war is set for 1:00 pm followed by a bluegrass concert at the arena and the results of the beard growing contest at 3:00 pm. L The big farewell isn't given until mid night Monday night. - F'or exact details andtimes of events, see the centre spread inside this issue that gives the full list of activities. - There are many others lined up in- chiding ball tournaments, beer gardens, horseshoe pitching, fish fries and chicken dinners. Have a good time here • It is impossible to list the names of everyone who have helped out in some way to create this 1985 Reunion. The official committee is included in this • issue and _they would like to thank everyonewho has. contributed to this extravaganza. The . News would also like to thank its many readers.. in the Ripley and Huron Township area who helped us out with this souvenir edition. Your time and effort were much appreciated. Our aim was to make this issue represent all of the Township and its Hub and thanks to you we accomplished this task. . We welcome you back to the area and wish all of you a good time at the Reunion. Ripley's Alive in'85! • Sincerely Editor and General Manager • Joy Manley On behalf of the whole staff Vi Armstrong,. Steve McAllister, Bruce MacLennan Diane Siemon Della Veen Sharon Bradley Maureen Dixon With special help from Corrine Boyle and. !Todd Mowat Families and Farms o In recent years, municipalities, with the help . of government funding, have 'put. together histories of their areas. Most often, they look back at education, religion, sports and recreation, and local government. There are lots of names, allowing residents of the area to retrace their family roots and follow the events which affected their parents, • grail, dparents, aunts and uncles in years gone by In. Huron Township, residents have been fortunate to enjoy two history books in the :past decade. "History of Huron and its Hub - Ripley" was printed in 1975 for the township's last reunionand covered the above-mentioned topics in detail.. In 1982, "Scrapbooks' of Jane Yemen" provided some insight into some of the families in the township during -a-100-year period between 1850 and 1950. It's only fitting that as a township with strong agricultural roots, Huron will soon boast a book looking at the township's farms and the people who have .worked the land during since the area was founded. "Families and Farms of Huron with its Hub- Ripley" will be unveiled on Thurs., Aug. 1, Opening Night of the Ripley's Alive in '85 reunion. The anxious moments of waiting for the final product byhe book's contributors will conclude shortly after 10 (and the Wintario program at the Complex) when the latest page of Huron's history is' turned at Ripley District School. The farm and families theme originated when the 1975 reunion . committee got together 'after History of Huron book ap- peared. Farms and Families' editor Gwen Harrison said when committees were ap- pointed for the next book in 1983, it was decided to research every farm. "That only took two months and it was suggested we have pictures of the people (on the farms) and have them tell about it," said Mrs. Harrison in a recent interview. The result is a book which traces the pur- Huron wit RIPLEY AND HURON Township have been able to enjoy several tales and facts about the history of their home. "A History.of Huron and its hub- Ripley" was,. chasing of land back to the 1850's when, the money from land sales went toward paying for education in Ontario. The first land sale in Huron took place in 1852. "It didn't mean you owned the land. It just applied to settle on it," Mrs. Harrison said of the purchases. The detailed look at each farm meant the book quickly grew from an original 25 pages to the 400 -page bound, edition ,which will be presented August, 1. The 566 lots in the township are discussed as are the owners and the generation, -Which have occupied the land. "There's a lot of, history and and geneology in the book. Most of the people (who have•owned the land) are still related. There were a few new Canadians who came in the 1950's but they're intermarried now," explained Mrs. Harrison. printer for the 1975 reunion and "Scrap- books of Jane Yemen" emerged in 1982. A thirdhistorical account will be unveiled The book contains over 1,000.photographs and lists "six or 7,000 names". Mrs. Har- rison credited the women in Ripley who put together the 30 -page index' with doing a " "fantastic job". The book iE unique as each landowner was asked • to write something. People •who aren't living in the township today sent ac- counts of their days on the farm from as far away as Toronto and Western Canada, pro- viding some unusual and sometimes amus- ing stories, Mrs. -Harrison said shewas somewhat surprised that the content doesn't include any scandalous material. "There were no Indian uprisings and it's surprising how the Irish, Scottish and Ger- mans interiningled'that well. As you read through it, a majority of the names are still here. Few' changes were made to the articles, August 1. when "Families and Farms of Huron with its :hub- Ripley" holds its publicity night at Ripley District School. allowing the book to express many different personalities., Approximately :50 people have been involved for the past year doing research; proofreading and paste-up. The book, which is being financed by a New Horizons' Grant and Huron Township went t the printer in Owen Sound on June 11. Like any history book, Farms and Families doesn't cover everything. Mrs. Harrison hopes the most -recent written account of Ripley and Huron Township's history won't be the last. "There is no suchthing as a perfect book," she said, noting that some land deals have been made and families have had addi- tions since 1984, "I think onthe whole, most of the people who worked on it are content. I hope it's a• book somebody else will follow up.