GLENDON – Half a century ago, families from the Glendon area that were dedicated to community vibrancy and recreation came together to form the Glendon Agricultural Society.
With 104 names on an application of formation for the society, “The society became duly registered on November 21, 1972 as the Glendon Agricultural Society,” states So Soon Forgotten: A History of Glendon and Districts, published in 1985.
The community and the Glendon Ag Society will be celebrating this historic milestone on Nov. 18, with an 18+ dinner and dance with live music from the band County Express out of St. Paul.
The evening will also include speeches and a tribute to the founding members and the first board of directors, honouring their contributions to the Ag Society back in 1972.
While a lot has changed in 50 years, a lot has remained the same. From the time the Glendon Ag Society was formed 50 years ago, they have worked to create recreational opportunities in the community from building a community hall and arena to hosting fairs and weekly bingo nights.
Today’s board of directors continues that legacy by bringing fun and low-cost events to the community. Hosting free skates every Friday while the arena is running and regular community suppers and family-focused events, and of course the annual Derby and Mud Bog that continues to grow every year.
“We are just trying to keep engagement from the community. It gets harder as people's lives get busier and we are trying to come up with new and innovative ways to reach people,” said Andrea Wolosiewicz, the Glendon Ag Society’s vice president.
Wolosiewicz acknowledged that while many residents work outside the community, it requires extra effort to retain interest with events happening in the community.
“For the most part, we do get quite a lot of support from the community, which makes it worthwhile,” she added.
There is no doubt a passion for the community runs deep, keeping Glendon residents committed to maintaining community pride.
“A lot of the members that are on the board right now have been in Glendon their entire life. They really do pride themselves on trying to keep people within our community and to show people that living in a small community and having an active Ag Society is a lot of fun,” Wolosiewicz said.
But the challenges of running a non-profit organization have remained the same.
“Raising the necessary finances to cover the costs of construction was always a problem. However, without the various kinds of grant programs initiated by the Municipal District of Bonnyville and the provincial government, the Recreation Complex would still be ‘just a dream’,” states the Glendon history book.
Even today, the Ag Society works hard to generate the necessary funds to maintain its buildings, such as the curling rink, arena and community hall.
“For the last few years that I have been on the board, I think finances and finding ways to keep the facility that we do run operational, have been a challenge... Those expenses can get really high and so we're always trying to come up with ways to keep that functioning so that we can be there for our community,” stated Wolosiewicz.
Dancing shoes
The Saturday evening event celebrating 50 years of the Glendon Agricultural Society is one way that the Glendon community and surrounding communities can give back to the Ag Society.
“The society does so much for our own community. It's nice to get the give back from the community as a thank you for all that they have done for them for the last 50 years. If it wasn't for the society, we wouldn't have the hall or the arena in our community,” Wolosiewicz noted.
The tickets are $50 each or a table of eight can be purchased for $350.
Dinner will be catered by the Glendon Catering Club – a group that was first organized by the ladies of Glendon back in 1974.
“It’s a fun night to reconnect and to celebrate community and a chance to know what exactly the society does within the community,” said the vice president.
“There's a lot of new people to our community. Glendon is slowly growing, and homes are starting to sell in our community again, so it’s nice to get the newer people involved in the community, so they know what Glendon is all about.”
Tickets can be purchased at B-Dawgs Liquor Store, Perfect Balance or by emailing [email protected].
