Thursday's Internet Edition, August 28, 2008.
|
|
A pair of 3-year-olds, Hailey Mitchell (left) and Aiden Mitchell, no relation, got some spring in their steps on a sunny afternoon by bouncing on a trampoline in a yard along Parkersburg Road near Spencer. |
By JIM COOPER
Editor - Spencer’s sesquicentennial celebration starts Friday with a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the city’s incorporation.
The event will begin inside the municipal building at 10:30 a.m. and then move to the Heritage Park Community Building for a free lunch and a program by an Abraham Lincoln impersonator.
“We’re trying to make it a festive day,” Kate Burbank, the chair of a committee planning events for the 150th anniversary, said.
The Virginia General Assembly chartered Spencer on March 15, 1858 (see story, 1B). To commemorate the occasion, a committee was formed to organize a series of special activities that will span the spring and summer months.
“We’ve had a lot of participation in our meetings representing a large number of groups as well as business people,” Burbank said. “We’re working on events for all year and this is the first one.”
The ceremony will take place in the council chambers, starting with a resolution commemorating the anniversary. American Legion Post 21 will post the colors, followed by recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation by Rev. Mike King of First Baptist Church of Spencer.
Del. Bob Ashley, representing the state legislature, and Tad Rupp of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s staff, representing the U.S. Congress, will read proclamations.
Mayor Terry Williams and former state Sen. Oshel Craigo will speak, and attorney Orton Jones will read the minutes of the Virginia General Assembly that created Spencer.
The first public viewing of a new city flag designed by Williams is also expected to be part of the program.
Hot dogs and birthday cake will be free to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the community building. A separate area will be provided for takeout orders.
“We’ve made big plans to feed a lot of people,” Burbank said. “We hope people from town and all around come for lunch.”
Jim Rubin of Prosperity in Raleigh County will portray Lincoln during a program at 12:45 p.m. Rubin has studied the 16th president’s personal and political life and has made appearances at re-enactments, schools and speaking engagements during an 11-year career. He has been interviewed by national television networks and was appointed as a member of the state’s Lincoln Bicentennial Committee to celebrate the 2009 anniversary of the president’s birth.
“Lincoln was president right after Spencer was formed,” Burbank said. “(Rubin) will do a program talking about things that may have gone on at that time.”
Photos with Rubin will be offered for a $5 fee beginning at 1:45 p.m.
A special collector’s basket commemorating the sesquicentennial will also be on sale at the municipal building. The baskets, part of a limited series of 150, are priced at $50 each.
The committee was to meet again Wednesday to discuss additional events. Special merchant sales, a downtown concert and an antique car show are among the possibilities. An anniversary postal cancellation will also be offered at the Spencer post office from April 1 to June 30.
Volunteers have also prepared several photo displays of Spencer in earlier times that will be displayed in the municipal building beginning Friday. Hundreds of photos are included in the displays, which will be available for viewing for several weeks.
