CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Walbridge’s time capsules conclude anniversary

Organizer performs final duty at council meeting

2/24/2014
BY CARL RYAN
BLADE STAFF WRITER
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    Limmer
    • Darlene Limmer, head of the Walbridge centennial commission, with a centennial scrapbook that was presented to a representative of the Walbridge Library following a council meeting Wednesday in Walbridge.
    Darlene Limmer, head of the Walbridge centennial commission, with a centennial scrapbook that was presented to a representative of the Walbridge Library following a council meeting Wednesday in Walbridge.

    After planning and organizing since August, 2011, Darlene Limmer can take a break.

    Ms. Limmer was president of the Walbridge Centennial Committee, which organized last year’s big 100th birthday party for the village. The yearlong centennial celebration included all manner of activities in 2013, from a sock hop to a vintage baseball game to the biggest event of all: a three-day festival at Loop Park from July 4-6.

    Village residents and nonresidents turned out in droves to have fun and show their appreciation for small-town America.

    The nonprofit centennial committee has been disbanded, but Ms. Limmer wasn’t quite finished. At last week’s village council meeting, she presented two time capsules to Walbridge officials, plus a centennial-year scrapbook to be kept on reserve at the Walbridge Branch of the Wood County Library System that librarian Matt Mehling accepted.

    The time capsules, which actually are two safes, will be sealed this week. One will be opened in 25 years and the other in 50. Mayor Ed Kolanko said they would be secured in police department offices.

    The safes include artifacts related to the centennial observances, including newspaper clippings, T-shirts, stamps, and a letter from the mayor, dated Feb. 19, in which he mused, “As I write this, the snow outside keeps falling. We are on pace to break the season record for snowfall! ... Honestly, I have had enough snow for a lifetime ... This gets me thinking ... will they have snowblowers in 25 years? Or will they have some new invention to melt the snow from the driveway and roads?”

    At the meeting, Al Murphy, the president of Walbridge Fest, told council the annual village celebration was slated for May 16-17 this year and the Fall Festival for Oct. 3-4 at Loop Park. Council approved his request to reserve the park from May 11-18 and Sept. 29 to Oct. 5.