The quiet streets of Rowley will be lined with classic cars this Saturday as the hamlet celebrates it centennial during Pizza Night. Though Rowley was never officially incorporated, businesses first started to appear in 1910 and a post office established in 1913.
The hamlet that never became a town is celebrating 100 years…and then some this weekend.
The Hamlet of Rowley is having its centennial celebration this Saturday at Pizza Night. The afternoon and evening celebration includes entertainment from Dew Carver and, the Rowley house band Nort and the Nerds, face painting for kids and a street full of classic cars.
Lorraine Foesier of Rowley explains the history book shows the first business, a general store, opened in the hamlet around 1910-1911. It changed hands in 1911 and then the post office was established in 1913.
“The problem is, Rowley was never incorporated. That is why we are calling it 100-plus years,” she tells The Mail.
They decided to go with when the post office was established as the date. This also coincides with a classic car cruise coming from the north.
The same group that hosted the Ukrainian Triangle Cruise, passing through Glendon, Vegreville and Mundare in 2012 is hosting the Old Cars and an Empty Town Cruise. This starts just South of Edmonton at Looma and heads south down Highway 21 and over to Rowley. They are expecting to arrive at about 2 p.m.
The community is planning a cake cutting at 4 p.m. and MLA Rick Strankman has accepted their invitation to the event. In fact, Foesier says he has a classic Ford Fairlane that may even show up.
She explains the early history of the community is not well documented simply because it was not incorporated. Much of what appears in history books comes from memory.
It is not known when Mr. Deering started his general store, but it is documented that George Swallow purchased it in 1911. In 1913, his wife was appointed the first postmaster.
The hamlet thrived in the early part of the century and a garage, a church, livery and of course a restaurant, which is Sam’s Saloon, was established.
The garage lasted until the 1940’s, Sam Leung shut down his restaurant in 1968 and the general store closed in 1973.
This didn’t spell the end of Rowley. Today the dedication of the community has added the soul to the ghost town. Heritage buildings have been refurbished and maintained, the famous elevators have been extensively restored and Sam’s Saloon attracts a great crew for Pizza Night.
In addition, the hamlet has become the backdrop for a number of motion pictures, domestic and international. Its most famous credit, and the project that got the motion picture industry interested in the hamlet was Bye Bye Blues in 1988, earning its moniker Rowleywood.
The celebration of the Centennial, and then some is Saturday, July 27. Cars are expected to arrive at 2 p.m. and cake cutting is at 4 p.m. In addition to Pizza Night, There will also be hot dogs and beef on a bun.
