Industry puts together bicentennial bash
INDUSTRY – Residents in Industry sure know how to party.
And party they did this weekend as the town celebrated its birthday with a blowout bicentennial bash that has been 200 years in the making.
The event officially started on June 20, with a service, supper and square dance that marked the actual anniversary of incorporation back in 1803.
However, things ratcheted up a notch Friday night with a chicken barbecue and a jiving street dance to usher in the bulk of the bicentennial celebration, which jam-packed the three-day weekend with a to-do list of events as long as Clearwater Lake is deep.
Organizers on the bicentennial committee for the 685-resident town say they were stunned when they ran out of chicken less than 40 minutes into the two-hour barbecue and had to turn people away, estimating that a crowd of nearly 200 people turned out to eat and then lace up their dancing shoes to boogie down with the Blake Brothers.
In fact, the barbecue and bee-bop were so successful, Town Clerk Cathy Frazier said it will become an annual event celebrated each July.
On Saturday morning, as heat waves rose off the pavement of Route 43, an estimated crowd of 2,500 gathered to watch or participate in the town’s parade.
The convoy trickled on for nearly an hour and featured a fleet of nearly 10 whaling fire engines from around the area, a petting zoo’s worth of barnyard animals and numerous floats and flashy cars, including one that carried special guest U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud and state Rep. Janet Mills.
Throughout the day, shoppers were busy perusing an array of lawn sales around town. Clearwater Lake also got good use as people plunged into the blue cool waters looking to beat the heat.
Saturday’s events went out with a bang when 1,044 cars, at $5 apiece, crammed Ronnie Wing’s field for a concert by the Franklin County Fiddlers and an hour-long fireworks show.
The festivities didn’t let up on Sunday as a pancake breakfast, historical displays, ethnic music and a lighted boat parade filled the day.
When it was over, those involved said they were pleased.
“People were out there having fun. It couldn’t have been better,” said Industry Historical Society president Bob Burton. The event, he said, caused more interest in the town’s vibrant past.
More than 100 copies of a pictorial history book of the town were sold over the weekend, and Burton said proceeds from that will go to renovating the society’s new home and museum, known as the Red Schoolhouse, which will keep the town’s past alive.
Although “it couldn’t have been hotter if they turned on the frying pan,” Burton said he was proud of the efforts of the organizers, who did a “bang-up job.”
“It went extremely well,” he said. “It got people stirred and really excited in our town and was a fitting tribute for our 200th birthday.”
The townspeople also proved they were productive and penny-wise when it comes to party planning, putting on the entire event for under the $10,000 that was raised in chunks of $5,000 over the last two years at town meetings.
“It’s just been a wonderful event,” said Karen Schuler, head of the bicentennial committee. “I’ve heard a lot of good feedback already, I really have. We just had a great time.”
Schuler said the committee was able to stretch the town’s donated dollars thanks to a volunteer workforce of nearly 100 people. “There was a lot of time and sweat that went into this,” she noted.
sdepoy@sunjournal.com
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