The Chapple heritage committee held its final fundraising supper Saturday evening at the Recreation Centre there, with about 150 people in attendance.
Blessings was said by Bill Clink. Co-chairman of the Heritage Committee, Rilla Race and June Wheatley, Heather Oltsher and Karen Jackson welcomed guests to this special occasion.
Highlight of the dinner was the performance of submissions for the Chapple centennial song contest, followed by the judging by the audience.
Submissions included:
•C-H-A-P-P-L-E is for C (sung to the tune of “Mother”) by Lisa, Joanna, and Angela Barron;
•The Centennial Song (sung to the tune of “Flow Gently Sweet Aloft”) by Shirley Brown;
•Ode to Chapple (sung to the tune of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean) by Laurence Visser;
•Chapple sung by the trio of Doug Barron, Don Clink and Wayne Barron;
•The Pioneer Song sung by Charles and Phylis Kivari of Atikokan, with guitar accompaniment; and
•Chapple’s Little Ditty sung by Ruth Teeple (accompanied by Harold McGinnis on his fiddle and Shirley Brown on the electric organ) to the tune of “The Wabash Cannon Ball.”
The audience chose “Chapple’s Little Ditty” by Teeple, who was presented with a plaque by heritage committee co-chair June Wheatley.
NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton later presented co-chair Rilla Race with a provincial heritage plaque and pin for the committee’s dedication in working on Chapple’s centennial project over the years.
Race was quick to recall the efforts of the late June Clink to get the project off the ground and her dedication towards it.
A skit entitled, “Purchasing a Mayor,” also was presented during the program. Race interviewed several “volunteers” from the audience for the position of mayor (namely Dave Hughes, Percy Champagne, Cecil Wilson, Wayne Barron, Crystal Rathwell, Bert Race, and Hampton) while Wheatley looked over the candidates.
Not cutting corners for a responsible official who would serve their community well, Wheatley decided upon Cecil Wilson.
A brochure of events to take place during Chapple’s centennial weekend July 30-Aug. 2, 1999 will be available upon registration on the first day of the celebrations.
Each person will receive a package of contents to follow throughout the four days.