BUSBY'S BIRTHDAY BASH!

The Hamlet of Busby celebrated 100 years of community and history over the weekend with three days of activities and events.

The centerpiece of the June 12-14 event was the huge parade that flowed down main street Busby for almost an hour Saturday and showcased all that the community has to offer.

Hundreds flocked to Busby for the once-in-a-lifetime event and Claire Stitsen, who was one of the many volunteers who helped organize the celebration, was ecstatic with the weekend.

'It's more than we ever expected," she said. 'Even though the rain came, briefly, we were able to have so many of the events. We were able to enjoy everybody's company and really reminisce."

Other events and activities during the weekend included a show and shine, tractor rodeo, horse-drawn history tours, a gymkhana, a slow pitch tournament, music, dinners and breakfasts, fireworks and a multi-faith church service.

Both Westlock municipalities presented mementos to the community to mark the occasion and dignitaries in attendance also included Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken, Westlock town and county councillors, and Pembina Hills school board trustee Annette Bokenfohr.

'It's enjoyable to come here and celebrate with Busby on their 100 years and meet a lot of the people that are hear," said van Dijken.

But the celebration was all about the people of Busby, their stories and their community, and there was not a better example of that than the cake quilt.

Made from just under 50 9" by 13" cakes that were laid out together in one mega slab, the quilt told the story of the people of Busby.

'My home town, which is Consort, Alberta, had its 100th anniversary about two years ago, and they had a quilt cake and it fed people for three days," Marlene Gerig said.

'I showed them a picture of what we had in Consort, but Busby took it to another degree.

'Lynda Edwards, she did all the piping around and she had the idea of putting quilts all behind. So there's quilts from the 1920s to present day."

The stories told are the history of Busby.

Lynda Ross has ties to the area since before the train came through and Busby was founded.

'Our grandparents came over from England in 1905 and they homesteaded, where my brother is living right now, in 1917" she said.

'I was gone for 10 years but the draw to come back to the farm was amazing."

For Ross, its Busby's people that make it special.

'We used to help each other out when we were growing up," she said.

'You might not even have had a car to drive, but the neighbours and friends were amazing and our family had a lot of love and that seemed to be what we needed."

And that community spirit was at the heart of the three days of celebration that got under way on Friday with the early rounds of the slow pitch tournament and a supper and jamboree.

Saturday was the main day for the weekend and started with a pancake breakfast followed by the parade.

The parade was led by a Mountie in full regalia and followed by floats from local families, community groups, businesses, reps from local and provincial government and the school board, sports groups, all kinds of farm machinery from today, and yesteryear, and volunteer firefighters and their kit.

Parade marshals awarded first prize to the float from the Busby & District Fish and Game Society.

Ones the parade was done and all the candy scooped up, attention turned to other events.

Tours of the hamlet in a wagon pulled by two horses got underway and the slow pitch games restarted.

The on-and-off rain didn't stop the party and the kids activities and live music moved indoors.

Not able to move inside, the tractor rodeo got underway at the fairgrounds. Contestants weaved their way though traffic cones and surveyor flags in tractors and then had to reverse the tractor and trailer up another snake run, all the while loading hay bales.

Saturday night was capped off with a family supper and dance followed by a fireworks display.

Sunday saw a multi-faith church service held at the community hall and the gymkhana that had been held over a day due to the weather. It was also the final day for the slow pitch tourney, which was won by local team the Heavy Hitters in the 10th innings 21-20 over the Ramrods.

When looking at the weekend for her memorable moment, Stitsen said the simple acts of reminiscing and reconnecting has been the highlight of the celebration.

'One of the highlights, today was the meeting of people here at the school, and people talking about ‘Remember when we did such and such?'

'And being able to just move on and tour them through the town from the school and just feel that connection.

For many people in the area, Busby School is the heart of the district.

When the local institution celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2008, 27 per cent of the students had a generational links to the school. Now, as the hamlet marks 100 years, 44 per cent of students have a family connection to the school.

'People are coming home. Second and third generation families are retuning to their roots. They just want to feel that warmth, the commitment, the feeling of care our community is giving others," Stitsen said.

It's a sign that Busby is growing, and the school makes it a desirable place to live.

'There's a lot of second, third, fourth generation families that want to live here," said Ivy Beattie. 'I was talking to someone who grew up here who now lives over by Devon. He said if he could find a place here, he'd want his kids to go to school here."

During Saturday, the school was open for a farmers market and also displayed student work and school history, including guided tours.

It's partly due to the school being at the heart of the community and partly because many of the students will become the custodians of the area's future history.

'A lot of our town history is shared right within the school and I think it's a wonderful way to pass down the traditions and the knowledge of history right here in our town and our community," Stitsen said.

'I believe it's important because we need to remember all of those pioneers from the past that have come here to build our community," she said. 'But also modeling for our young families that are coming into our community, what it takes to have a community."

Van Dijken agrees.

'We really live in quite a young county but we are also celebrating the pioneering spirit that came along with this and how we can continue to build Alberta from that spirit," he said.

'So it's important to recognize the past and look forward to the future."