Dave Ogilvie
The unwelcome sight of snow did little to dampen the spring fever spirit of those who attended last week’s annual celebration in Emo.
The inclement weather did, however, force the cancellation of the International Early Iron Club’s “Show and Shine” car show and the “chem-free grad” car wash.
The snowy and slushy conditions also discouraged anyone from taking part in this year’s “poker walk.”
Rejuvenate Fitness’ fifth-annual 5K run/walk was held on schedule, however, with 12 female runners and walkers braving the unpleasant conditions.
The winner of the race was Jillian Gustafson (in a time of 31.05), with the $120 raised from the event going to the Terry Fox Foundation.
“It was definitely the most snow we’ve ever had,” remarked Ted Corrigan.
“We’ve had a few flurries and some rain [before], but this is the worst weather I’ve seen for ‘Spring Fever Days.’”
Nonetheless, all the other events during the three-day celebration went ahead without any problems.
“On Thursday and Friday, we had twice the amount of business as we did last year,” enthused Mary Martin from Misty River Alternatives, who not only had the store open for business but also bravely held an outdoor bake sale.
“We were surprised and pleased that people would come out in this weather to buy some baking and visit our store, especially with all the snow,” she added.
The annual “Crafts Galore” at the Emo Legion was a busy place both Friday and Saturday, with the kitchen crew dishing out hot soup and sandwiches to a hungry crowd.
On both days, staff just about ran out of soup as people came in from out of the cold to warm up, check out the crafts, and visit with friends.
Another popular location was the new Rainy River Meats processing plant, where staff took part in the time-honoured Canadian tradition of barbecuing in the snow.
Staff members were busy Friday and Saturday handing out free samples of their local beef. The store is now officially up and running, with a variety fresh local beef, pork, lamb and rabbit for sale.
Meanwhile, staff at Tompkins Home Hardware also were pleased with the turnout fort this year’s “Spring Fever Days.”
“The crowd was pretty steady for both days,” noted Emily Mosbeck. “Saturday was a good day despite the weather.”
The hub of activity, however, seemed to be at the Emo-La Vallee Community Centre, where Nestor Falls Marine held its annual boat show and where a variety of other booths, including the ever-popular “theme baskets” from Knox United Church, attracted a large crowd on both Friday and Saturday.
Besides the usual creative baskets, the church youth added to the occasion by selling Easter eggs that contained candy and the occasional coupon for a prize.
As well, four young girls from the group also sold friendship bracelets they had made on their own.
The profits from the penny table baskets and the bake sale will go towards the church’s work in the community while the funds raised by the youth will be sent to Japan to help with earthquake relief efforts there.
But the highlight from Saturday definitely was the Hair and Body Care Shoppe’s official “Cuts for Cancer” head-shaving, which was held in the arena this year.
At 1 p.m., a large crowd gathered around three chairs just inside the entrance to watch as six brave participants had their heads shaved in support of Tamarack House in Thunder Bay.
As each person rose from their chair, minus their hair, they were greeted with a warm round of applause.
The biggest cheer, however, was saved for Vern Thompson, who had his 20-year-old beard shaved off.
The crowd kept urging Thompson to also shave off his hair. Only after the crowd produced some additional cash did he agree—and the results astounded even members of his family.
Although he didn’t quite meet his goal of $5,000, Thompson did raise $4,444.55 and would like to thank everyone for their donations.
Thanks to Bonnie Daw, Gloria Tibbs, Candy Ewen, Austin Ewen, Jack Vandenbrand, Travis Vandenbrand, and, of course, Thompson for supporting such a worthy cause.
Altogether, the group raised $9,070.73, which will be sent to Thunder Bay to support Tamarack House, a lodge for regional cancer patients and their families.
It offers a comfortable home away from home for people from across Northwestern Ontario who must travel to Thunder Bay for medical treatment.
Tammi and Don Foster from Nestor Falls Marine definitely were pleased with all the activity that took place in the arena.
“Sales were great this year,” beamed Foster. “And everyone had a fantastic time.”
The weekend’s events concluded with the drawing for the Emo gift certificates, which was held at Rainy River Meats.
The winner of the $500 prize went to Betty Huntley while the $250 prizes went to Bonny Montgomery and Austin Ewen.
