HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-03-24, Page 23ling hp
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old and the new of Goderich, Canada
h's 150th birthday during 1977 was presented to the citizens of Bay wagon and the Dominion Road Machinery grader towing it were among
ichigan, by a mixture of the old and new in this float which par- several Goderich entries in the parade which Won top honors, and a trophY,
in their St. Patrick's Day Parade last Sunday. The pioneer covered as the best out of town floats. (staff photo)
e Carter welcomed
Unty Judge Frank Carter, center, shares a light
during last weekend's civic reception in Bay City
American niayor Dan Willerts, right, and one of the
city commissioners Frank Jenkins. The Bay City mayor
presented Judge Carter with the keys to his city at that
reception. (staff photo)
ne with Patrick's Day iissOciatiOn, presents Niro. Shttwfilit with a
be WO bouquet of flowers during a reception at sthe Ray City
A meriestst Legion. (start photo)
City St.
•
Color party on parade
In addition to the municipal delegation, and representatives of the Jubilee Three Com-
mittee, a party representing the Goderich Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion took part
in St. Patrick's Day celebrations in our sister community Bay City Michigan over the
weekend. The local Legionnaires also participated in joint events with their comrades in
the American Legitf. (staff photo)
Tbr Ooberitiv
SIGNAL -STAR
130 YEAR -12
THURSDAY, MARCH 24,1977'
SECOND SECTION
147ternatiotlal sisters
ite for big rade
BY RON SHAW
Over the ,past weekend I
travelled with about 300 other
Goderich residents to visit
our sister. Our sister city that
is, Bay City Michigan.
Maybe it's this business,
maybe I'm just a sickie, but I
have become pretty cynical
about such functions and
institutions as sister cities
and civic receptions. It has
always seemed to me that,
nine times out of ten, those
taking part were merely
Walking through the scenes of
a badly written play and deep
down wishing they were
somewhere else.
Not so in Bay City. Any
reservations I had about how
seriously the officials, and the
people, of that Michigan
community would take
Goderich's request to be
accepted as a sister city were
soon dispelled.
Mayor Dan Wilierts, his
city commission, the civil
servants we met, and the
citizen on the street, all
demonstrated that for them
this was no mere empty
gesture of international
brotherhood or vain attempt
at stirring up some local
enthusiasm through a `hands
across the border' pitch. They
were truly pleased we had
asked them to become our
sister city and went to great
lengths to prove it.
Oh there were the usual
civic receptions, a dinner, a
dance at the American
Legion, and several other
public opportunities for our
mayors to get up and slap
each other on the back and
mouth platitudes about our
undefended border, how
much we had in common and
how much "we Americans
like Canadians," or "we
Canadians like Americans,"
as the case may be.
The difference was that
both men, and other officials
travelling in their parties,
geemed to mean it. I really
believe they did.
What was more impressive
still was the reaction to the
'sister city' scheme from the
average guy on the street:
Huge Crowds turned out to
watch the St. Patrick's Day,
parade in which floats from
Goderich were participating
to promote our sesquicen-
tenTIW. As those floats moved
the -city the cheers
andpiauge of those lining
the,liateets was unbelievable.
The30';46te glad we went to
the effort of taking part in
their biggest annual
celebration, and they wanted
us to know it.
MINGLED WITH CROWDS
As a news man and
photographer covering the
whole weekend, and
especially the parade, I
mingled with those crowds
along the parade route. I
pulled my van into an empty
lot about three hours before
parade time to be assured of a
place near the street from
which to shouj film. Two
hours before the parade
began that lot was full, as
were all others within site of
the streets along which the
floats would travel.
The people who gathered at
my particular location had
made the parade .an annual
event for their social group in
particular. For five years
they had gathered at the
same location with basically
the same group of friends to
watch the event.
They parked their vans and
pick up.,trucks, put some red-
neck rock on the tape deck,
tapped a keg of draft and
invited me to join them. None
was aware that Goderich had
been named a 'sister com-
munity to their city but when
I explainthe idea and about
our celebrations this sum-
mer, they showed keen in-
terest.
The result was an
especially loud cheer when
the Goderich floats went by
and about a half dozen more
vehicles in Bay City sporting
bumper stickers advertising
'Come Home Days' at
Goderich this July.
Bay City is a community of
nearly 50,00Q people and is
made up, for the most part, of
descendants of Poles who
came from Buffalo New York
to work in the lumber trade.
While Goderich was founded
in182 Bay City did not of -
(continued on page 6A)
•,Local advertising
Paul Ventrone, a machine assembler at the Resistance Welder Corporation in Ray City,
had never heard of Goderich or that this community was a sister city to his home town but
after learning of the. arrangement became a Goderich booster. Ile attack a Toile Rotate
bays' bumper sticker on his vehicle and says he would testily like to come across to
Canada and have a look at the kind of community Which has aligned itself with Ray City.
staff photo)