You only get one chance to celebrate your 100th anniversary, and the community of Rumsey is planning on doing it in style.
This summer, the community in Starland County is preparing to mark 100 years with a weekend of festivities starting on July 12.
“Rumsey had businesses in it as early as 1909,” explains Larry Anderson of the organizing committee. “The Railroad came in 1911. The reason we chose 1919, is that it is when Rumsey became a municipality. There were things happening around Rumsey as early as 1900. The Crooked Lake Cattle Company was established and were running cattle in a large area.”
While Rumsey is now a hamlet, the community spirit has remained.
Member of the committee Rob Richmond tells the Mail it will be a celebration to remember. The committee has been busy collecting names of residents and former residents and will be sending out invitations in the near future for the celebration this summer.
He says Friday, July 12, will be a busy day to allow people to come and set up camp, and get registered.
On Saturday, July 13 the day starts out with a pancake breakfast served up by the Morrin Fire Department. After that, there will be the Rumsey Centennial Parade.
“The Rumsey tradition with all the parades over the years is we always circle the route twice,” said Richmond.
He is the Parade Marshal and is looking for local families, organizations and businesses that wish to participate in the parade.
The rest of the day is reserved for fun and visiting. There will be a bouncy castle and activities for youngsters. A fun activity will be human “Foosball” for the adults. The community hall will be open with displays and photos recounting the history of Rumsey and presentations. There will be souvenirs for revellers.
They will be marking the occasion by installing two benches; one in the Rumsey cemetery and one in Rowley to honour the area pioneers.
Another initiative they are doing is reprinting the first Rumsey History Book. Throughout the years there have been three books, the most recent published in 2016. With the reprint, they will have all three volumes for sale at the celebration.
In the evening there will be dinner and a dance featuring Precious Cargo. Capping off the evening with a fireworks show.
Breakfast is served by the Rumsey Fire Department on Sunday morning, followed by a church service. They will close the weekend with some dedications and presentations.
Richmond says to watch the Rumsey Centennial 2019 Facebook page for more details as the event draws closer. For more information, contact Dariel McNaughton at 403-368-2120.
