Canada's centennial year, 1967, was a year long celebration of 100 years of the Dominion of Canada. Expo '67 was held in Montreal from April to October It was labelled the most successful World's Fair ever held up to that time. Unique commemorative coins were minted. Many were produced so they are not particularly valuable now but nice to come across. The one cent coin has a dove in flight, the nickel has a rabbit, the ten cent a mackerel, the 25 cent a bobcat, the 50 cent a wolf, and the dollar coin has a Canada goose in flight.
The pages of the Reston Recorder tell about the special local projects that were undertaken to celebrate. Laying of the cement floor in the curling rink, insulating and heating it was the RM of Pipestone’s major centennial project.
The June 22, 1967 paper had a front page feature covering the visit of the Centennial Caravan which had over 4800 local visitors go through the displays over one day. The festivities began with a mile long parade and ended with a old time costume dance at night. You can find the parade and dance costume winners here on page one. Quoting from the Reston Recorder:
The parade, which was led by the marching band of the Bottineau ND High School, had 85 floats, 30 bicycles, tricycles, Hondas, horses, clowns and all the elements to make it outstanding. The starting point was the Reston Fairgrounds. It moved down Number Two highway to the Main Street, down that street and west on Railway Avenue and north on the West Street past the hospital. It was completed just in time for the 11 o’clock official opening of the Confederation Caravan. Judges Mrs. Muriel Poole of Manson, Mrs. Norman Jasper of Hartney and Mr. Oscar Goodman of Melita, had a difficult time in deciding the winners.
The number to go through the Centennial Caravan on the one day stop here on Tuesday was 4833. The caravan consisted of seven huge trailers arranged in a quadrangle with an entertainment stage near the entrance and the towering triadetic displays inside the formation. The eighth trailer used to carry displays was parked at the rear.
The story of Canada was vividly told using still and movie pictures, life-size mannequins that moved, intricate miniature figures and scenes, reproductions of full-size rooms and outdoor settings as well as hundreds of artifacts.
Canada's was not the only birthday celebrated that day, however. The paper includes a great sidebar about Reston postmaster Oliver Chester. You experienced life as it was lived in the Indian villages, to a tailor shop of Lower Canada, the Gold Rush days, the Roaring 20's and the Great Depression. You saw the Ming vases and fine silks explorers
were seeking when they found Canada by mistake, tiny sculptured figures of
the Fathers of Confederation, a rifle and gas mask of one war and bomb
fragments of another, a stock ticker rattling through the '29 crash.
And the sounds of other times were all around you… The chants of the voyageurs probing the heart of a continent, the garrulous daughter in a tavern in Upper Canada, the puffing and clutter in the Prairie-bound steam engine, and the shriek of the bomber and shells at war. Under manager Deb Green, this caravan, one of eight in Canada will travel 7433 miles visiting points in Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and closing at Maple Creek, Saskatchewan on November 2.
... like all postmasters who are frequently called on to perform unusual tasks, he did so without fuss or bother.
The story goes that Mr. Chester baked a 21st birthday cake for one of the Caravan employees, Michael Landucel as requested in a registered letter from his mother from India. Michael's Canadian parents were living there while his father managed a zinc mine. A real testament to the hospitality of a small town to a young man. I wonder if he ever fondly recalled his 21st birthday in Reston or if he was thoroughly embarrassed!
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