by Ralph Pace
updated
Mon, Sep 12, 2011 12:32 PM
This is a big weekend in Ludlow.
It was exactly 250 years ago that Benning Wentworth, the
Royal Governor of New Hampshire, approved the charter that created
the Town of Ludlow. The precise date was September 16,
1761.
In keeping with the historic significance of this
semiquincentennial celebration, the Ludlow 250 Committee has
organized a two day program to honor and celebrate this momentous
occasion. Starting on Friday, September 16 at 6 PM at the
Gazebo in Veterans Memorial Park, George Thomson, honorary emcee
for the events, will introduce a large number of honored guests who
will describe some of the historical events in Ludlow's history.
There will even be a very large birthday card, assembled by
the folks at Okemo, in which everyone can sign their names and
thoughts. To ensure that the mode is festive and merry, music
will be provide both before and following the formal activities of
that evening by the "Sugar River Band". In the event of rain,
the festivities will be held in the town hall
auditorium.
On the following day, Saturday, September 17 at 11 AM, there
will be a parade down Main Street to the Gazebo. The parade
will feature the Black River High School Band, the Ludlow Police
and Fire Departments, a special section for area youngsters who
have decorated their bikes for the occasion, cyclist (on those huge
one wheel jobs), floats from various area organizations, and, as a
special treat, the Set Warner Mt. Independence Fife & Drum
Corp.
Following the parade, Ludlow will experience a birthday cake
the size of which has probably never been seen before. Irene
Maston of the Andrie Rose Inn, winner of many national cake-making
awards, will prepare a three tiered cake, topped, we understand,
with a replica of the gazebo that will be large enough to feed over
three hundred people. While eating the cake, the Seth Warner
fife & drum corp will entertain.
At 1 PM, courtesy of the Vermont Humanities Council, Linda
Radtke will provide a concert on "Vermont History through
Song".
All of the Ludlow 250 activities will end with the annual
Ludlow area Rotary Club's Duck Race at 2 PM.
On both evenings, at 6 and 8 PM, the annual Josh Cole
Memorial Soccer Tournament will take place at Dorsey
Park.
All of the above is a not-so-gentle reminder to TS Irene
that Ludlow is tough enough to endure its deluge and still find
time to remember and honor its history and heritage.
As for the recovery efforts from the punishment bestowed by
Irene, the Ludlow area is demonstrating its will to recover and
return to business as usual.
The major businesses in the Shaw mall have reopened.
Shaws, itself, is now operating out of a 3000 square foot
tent. Peoples United Bank has installed a fully operational
trailer facility to continue serving the bank needs of Ludlow, and
Rite Aid had reopened its prescription services. Elsewhere,
downtown Ludlow is seeing a gradual return to business as those
stores impacted by Irene's waters clear away the mud and
debris.
The major roads in Ludlow plus those servicing Mt Holly,
Plymouth, and Cavendish from Ludlow have been reopened.
Plymouth is still returning some of its key roads to use.
Cavendish's Rte 131 to Weathersfield is still closed due to
the horrendous gap in the road from the flood. Other
roads that suffered damage are being repaired as resources and
manpower permit.
To help with this, Black River Good Neighbors has raised a
sizable amount of recovery funds through donations from all across
the country. Okemo has conducted a concert that raised
$10,000 for this fund, Rite Aid has donated a large supply of
cleaning materials, and some monies have come from an unexpected
source: lemonade stands in Colorado and North
Carolina.
All in all, people in the area are coming to grips with the
results of Irene and are showing resiliency in overcoming the
problems created by the flooding.
In other news, the Ludlow Democratic Party will hold its
caucus to elect officers and determine strategies in the coming
year on Tuesday, September 20 at 7 PM in Ludlow town
Hall.
Even though it's not scheduled until November 4, the Hart
Players have been rehearsing their comedy skits written by Stan and
Jane Hart. This past Sunday the cast gathered at the
auditorium in Ludlow to run through their first takes on the skits.
Called "Old Enough to Know Better", the skits will be
presented by FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium).
FOLA is also preparing for its October 20 healthcare forum
which will be moderated by Stewart Ledbetter, senior political
commentator for WPTZ/WNNE. The forum will feature a panel of
statewide representatives who reflect the differing views of the
recent legislation passed in Montpelier. The forum is free
and open to the public. For information, call
228-7239.
Black River Good Neighbors is preparing for its fall rummage
sale at Fletcher Farm. The sale will take place from Friday,
September 23 through Sunday, September 25.
(If you have any information that you would like to see in
this column, simply email the information to ralphpace@tds.net
.)
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