KAWARTHA LAKES-In 1976, Bobcaygeon looked back on 100 years since the village was incorporated as a volunteer committee planned events throughout the year. Festivities kicked off on New Year’s Day with a ceremony in the auditorium at Bobcaygeon Public School: the national anthem, prayers, poetry, and youth musical performances. Centennial Committee volunteer Joyce Poole was named Citizen of the Year. A winter carnival in February featured a torchlight parade, hockey, a snowmobile safari, giant snowslide, log sawing, beaver skinning demonstration, skiing, Saturday night dances and a chainsaw contest. On June 13, the village churches held a centennial service at the community centre, as part of a centennial week that also featured a community picnic, ball and horticultural show. For many residents, the most memorable event was the parade on June 17.
Being a centennial, many of the parade entries were historically themed and participants wore old fashioned costumes. Burritt and Mildred Kerr drove a Model T Ford and marching bands featured prominently. The St. Lawrence Starch Company of Mississauga provided their antique Packard truck, advertising Durham Corn Starch and Beehive Corn Syrup—brands that had been popular locally in the mid twentieth century. Many Bobcaygeon residents would long remember the sight of Jack and Ila Crowe pedaling down Bolton Street on a tandem bicycle. They both looked sharp—Ila in a dress and bonnet; Jack with a vest, bowtie and pipe dangling from his mouth.
John Bick and Pieter Van Oudenaren in WOOT 2026
Fifty years later, a volunteer committee once again spent years months preparing for Bobcaygeon’s sesquicentennial, with another parade through town to the arena, with bands and many interesting old vehicles. Organizers John Bick and Pieter Van Oudenaren rode in the WOOT, a single-cylinder 1902 horseless carriage made at Moore’s Waggon Shop (now CIBC). After the ceremonies at the Bobcaygeon arena, local bands played until midnight, including a well-attended dance. The volunteer committee created interesting exhibits on local history, while Sam Dickie’s new documentary on Bobcaygeon as a tourist destination premiered. It was a sesquicentennial that in many ways reflected the village’s celebrations of 1976.
This story is part of our Partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
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