This community didn’t let a little rain dampen enthusiasm for its rich railway history.
While the weather forced the cancellation of planned celebrity handcar races and a jigger demonstration, some other events simply moved inside and the party continued in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Palmerston Pedestrian Bridge.
Minto treasurer Gordon Duff said the handcars were pulled out of storage and put on display during a sunny break, Saturday afternoon.
“I saw a lot of tourists checking them out,” noted Duff, who said organizers “tried to outguess the weather,” all weekend.
Venue changes were announced as they happened via facebook, twitter and the event webite.
“We were using 21st Century social media technology for events surrounding a 1912 asset,” Duff stated.
While the weather did impact attendance, Duff said organizers were pleased with the turnout for most events.
One of the best-attended indoor events, Duff noted, was a presentation on local rail history by Stephen Thorning, who writes a history column for the Wellington Advertiser. About 200 people attended the presentation in the Norgan Theatre.
Music events were held either in the Norgan, or at the Palmerston community centre.
The celebration kicked off Friday night, with the much-anticipated unveiling of two Main Street murals. Artist Bert DeGraaf, of Tiverton, created the railroad-themed murals, which now adorn the walls of the Palmerston CNRA building and Rock’s Antiques.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything with trains, so it was quite a challenge for me to be able to do it,” said DeGraaf.
He took over the project at the request of artist Allen Hilgendorf, who created an existing mural in Palmerston’s downtown and was commissioned to do the new ones as well, but is battling cancer and was unable to complete the work.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Allen,” Minto business and economic manager Belinda Wick-Graham said at the unveiling.
Minto Mayor George Bridge stated, “It’s been a great endeavour by a lot of people to get the 100th anniversary of the Palmerston Pedestrian Bridge organized.”
Bridge used the occasion to commend the Palmerston Lions Club and the downtown revitalization committee for recent improvements to the community. “We’re starting to see some really positive things happening in Palmerston with the downtown,” said Bridge.
Former Minto councillor Wayne Martin, a member of the local parks and recreation committee, said, “A big part of the community, for me, is the railway and the people connected with it.”
Wick-Graham noted funding for the murals came from several sources, including the federal Department of Canadian Heritage, the Palmerston lawn bowlers and the downtown revitalization committee.
Dave Rock, owner of Rock’s Antiques, said coming from a family with six members who provided a total of 110 years of service to the CNR, he was honoured to have the mural placed on the wall of his store. “This mural represents a lot of the motive power that worked up in this area,” he said.
One of the marquis events of the celebration, a dinner on the pedestrian rail bridge, had to be moved to the Lions Park pavilion due to weather.
The pedestrian bridge is the most visible symbol of the town’s railway heritage.
“In 1910 the Grand Trunk Railway Company was ordered by the Railroad Commissioners of Canada to build a pedestrian bridge across the rail yard to join both sides of the town,” a history on the palmerstonpedestrianbridge.com website states. “It was opened in August 1912, and allowed west-side school children to safely cross the rail yard’s 12 sets of track to reach their school on the east.”
The bridge is the only one of its kind in Ontario. The town designated the bridge as being of architectural and historical value in 2010.
