It will be a celebration 100 years in the making as the Village of Rockyford marks its centennial next summer.
The planning committee has been busy and already is seeing the fruits of its labour as it completes its rehabilitation of the Rockyford Union Cemetery.
“We have rehabilitated some headstones there, and we had a surveyor come in to survey the cemetery, we put in GPS points. We went one step further and had a company come in with a density scanner and we scanned there and we were able to determine where there were other unmarked graves,” said committee chairman Darcy Burke.
They are no longer unmarked. Volunteers erected 30 crosses at the sites of each of the graves. Burke says through their records, they have been able to identify a number of the people who were buried however they are not able to match them up with the sites.
“Rockyford is turning 100 years old, but that cemetery is older than that. Back at the turn of the century, who knows what they used for markers, and they are not there anymore. As a community, we decided these pioneers need to be recognized and need to have a permanent marker to define their final resting place,” said Burke.
“When we started to do research into the history of this cemetery I was amazed at how many children passed away as infants or at a very young age. I think it goes to show the struggles of families and the lack of doctors and medicine 100 years ago,” said Burke.
The community has soldiered on and so has the planning for the centennial celebrations. This will take place on June 29, 2019. Burke says the community is looking not just at a party but a number of great improvements to the community that will last for generations.
“We are replacing the sidewalk on Main Street. That will happen in the spring of 2019. We are putting in a boardwalk style sidewalk. We are putting in turn of the century style street lighting,” said Burke. “We are also identifying all of the historic buildings and historic sites in Rockyford.”
He says they will be erecting permanent markers placed at each site, identifying what was there 100 years ago. This will make for an interesting walking tour for residents and visitors alike.
“We have found a hospital here, an illegal gambling hall here, so it has been very interesting,” he said. “We are pretty excited. We are not sure how many markers we are going to have yet but I would not be surprised if we end up with a couple dozen of them,” said Burke.
He said the celebration has to include the surrounding residents in the county.
“Our community would not be where it is today without our rural neighbours. We have had lots of the farm families around Rockyford celebrate the turn of the century on their farms and this will be recognized on that day as well,” he said.
The party gets started on Saturday, June 29 and Burke says they are planning for at least 1,000 to join the celebration. A free pancake breakfast will be on Main Street followed by a parade of turn of the century equipment and vehicles. After the parade, the community centre will be open for socializing with historical displays and artifacts. There will be tours of the Union Cemetery and a rededication ceremony.
Back at the sports grounds, there will be more social activities including kids games. There will be a banquet in the evening with speakers and a session on the history of the community. The night caps off with a live performance by Drew Gregory and Renegade Station.
“It will be a dance in the dirt… You are going to be able to dance right in the infield,” he said, “and then we are going to close out the evening with a fireworks show.”
It will be a busy weekend in Rockyford because the very next day will be the annual Bullarama, and then Monday will be Canada Day.
