Some people don’t make a big deal out of birthdays, holidays and anniversaries.
“They happen every year,” they say.
But even the most skeptical amongst us must admit that some things only happen once, and those events are always worth celebrating.
If a person lives to see 100 years, it is certainly a meaningful milestone.
Likewise, when a town or city reaches the century mark, it deserves no small amount of recognition.
Athabasca’s centennial celebrations have not been small by any means. Ever since the calendar turned over to 2011, the buzz has been building, and rightfully so. How many people will ever be able to say that they were there when a town reached the century mark?
Regardless of your tastes, there was something for you to do in Athabasca this year; some fitting way for you to celebrate. There was the ‘reunion weekend’ in July, of course, and the birthday party itself this past weekend. But that wasn’t all. Scores of events (annual or otherwise) marked the centennial this year. The Canada Day parade, which boasted over 100 floats, is one example. But many more can be found.
And now that the celebrations have finally wound to a close, a little reflection is probably worthwhile.
You don’t go 100 years without seeing and doing a lot, after all.
For many people, this year has presented an opportunity to look back on family history as well as local history. For families who have been here for a century, or close to it, the history of Athabasca practically is their family history; and they have the unique honour of knowing their own relatives played big roles in the shaping of a community.
But while Athabasca’s past offers much to celebrate, the future is where we must now place our focus.
There’s a reason people make resolutions at the beginning of each year. There’s a reason we look ahead with optimism when we reach a new age, or feel like we’re getting a fresh start when Monday rolls around.
The past won’t be forgotten, but the present is where we live, and the future is what we shape. A century of hard work, love and dedication has gone into creating the town of Athabasca. Those who did the work should be commended.
But the work of the next century now falls to us.
