Hespeler Time!

This close-knit community came together to celebrate their heritage and reconnect with the past.

Ibelieve the saying goes: “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, for the weekend of July 8 to 10, 2016, the village was Hespeler, Ont., and the child was the 2016 Hespeler Reunion, an event that has been held only seven times in the last 110 years. The reunions held in 1906, 1926, 1947, 1966, 1996 and 2006, combined with the one we just completed in 2016, have brought together those of us who still live in Hespeler and thousands of others from around the globe who have called Hespeler home at one time or another.

In addition to local residents of Hespeler, which is a neighbourhood and former town within Cambridge, Ont., last summer’s gathering had attendees coming from Australia, Great Britain, France, the United States and many parts of Canada, ranging from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia. A few brave souls even dared to cross Highway 401 from Galt and Preston to party with us.

It was a weekend of celebrating our heritage and reconnecting with our past, allowing many to find old friends and perhaps to make new ones. Heck, I even spent part of Saturday night drinking with a Liberal! For many, it was also a chance to see up close what changes were going on in this little section of Cambridge.

From the opening ceremonies on Friday night— which included an old- timers hockey game, figure- and speed- skating demonstrations, and a homecoming dance— to Sunday night’s closing ceremonies, which came com- plete with an awesome fireworks display that lit up the Hespeler sky, the weekend proved to be just what this town needed. Not even the downpour early Saturday evening could put a damper on the festivities.

The entire town and the businesses within were ready to celebrate. The Hespeler Tennis Club provided free tennis for kids, the Fashion History Museum and the Hespeler Heritage Centre gave tours of their facilities, the local bars and the Hespeler Legion all put on events to keep people busy and entertained. The Saturday street dance was a great success, with many local bands such as Seven Sundays, Tracenine and Blackbridge providing the music and the crowds providing extra entertainment.

Another one of the traditions is the beard-growing contest and this time around we had a great selection of beards to choose from. Plus, there was the soapbox derby for the kids, food trucks and a midway in Forbes Park for everyone to enjoy. The reunion parade was a fantastic event that in my opinion was the best parade I have seen in many a year, and from the looks on everyone’s face, all in attendance thought so as well.

Sunday was another great day for the reunion. It started off with an open-air church service held in Victoria Park, followed by a church- sponsored breakfast and many food trucks—including the famous “Beavertails” truck in the park. Hespeler minor softball ran a home run-hitting contest, the Cambridge Cheer Sport Sharks put on a lively demonstration and the old- timers softball game brought together many of Hespeler’s best players

from the past, including recent Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dan Donahue. The boys may be a little slower, but they can still play the game—and the fans in attendance loved them for it! There were bands performing, children playing and laughing and old and new Hespelerites sitting down to a few beers, talking about the town and where it has been and where it’s heading.

When the reunion executive said goodbye to the crowds, and the fireworks ended, it seemed for a moment that no one in the park wanted the big event to be over; many stayed, with a wistful look on their face—a look that said 2026 and the next Hespeler Reunion cannot come soon enough.

For that one weekend in July 2016, everything was perfect in Hespeler and “the village had indeed raised a great child!” ■