Smyrna kicks off bicentennial celebration this weekend
SMYRNA – This year marks a huge milestone in Town of Smyrna history. The town will be celebrating its bicentennial this year, and residents have come up with multiple activities to help town celebrate its heritage.
The town didn’t discover that 2008 would be the year of their bicentennial until early in the year. Town Supervisor James Bays explained that in January or early February, Barb Marso was helping her father to organize some paperwork when she came across a program from the town’s 175th anniversary. It didn’t take long to realize that 2008 would be the year the town would celebrate its 200th anniversary.
“We felt strongly that this should be a citizen-driven event for all of the residents of the village and the town,” Bays said.
Different bicentennial activities have been planned for every month. The first will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Smyrna United Methodist Church. Henry Drexler will provide a slide show presentation of the history of Smyrna. The slide show will include many photos of Smyrna’s history, some of which date back at least 100 years. Light refreshments will follow the presentation, which is sponsored by the Smyrna Bicentennial Committee. A handicap entrance is available at the rear entrance of the church. The committee will be selling souvenirs at this and subsequent events. T-shirts are already available, and the committee is working on obtaining mugs, hats, calendars, pins and pens, which will be available at subsequent events.
The bicentennial committee will also take part in the Smyrna Fire Department’s Mother’s Day Chicken Barbecue, and the Memorial Day Parade. On Mother’s Day, the oldest woman who attends the event will be given a free bicentennial calendar. (A similar event will take place on Father’s Day.)
On Memorial Day, the bicentennial committee and the town will begin what they hope will be an ongoing tradition to honor Smyrna’s veterans. Any veteran who is or was once a Smyrna resident or family members of those veterans, are invited to attend Smyrna’s Memorial Day Parade. Marine Sergeant Major Joseph Angelino will be the guest speaker for the event. Following the ceremony, the town is going to be placing flags and markers on the graves of veterans buried in Smyrna cemeteries. The Town Board is funding the cost of the flags and markers.
“We’re dedicated to start taking care of the cemeteries in Smyrna,” said Town Planning Board Member Terry Pollay. The town hopes they will be able to cover all of the cemeteries in Sherburne this year, but explained that if they are unable to do so, next year they will start with those they missed in 2008. Pollay asked anyone who has a friend or loved one who was a veteran buried in a Smyrna cemetery to contact him at 627-6769, and to ensure those graves are not missed.
More events will follow in the following months. Anyone interested in volunteering to help the bicentennial committee should contact Janice Bassett at 627-6589. Interested parties can also attend the next meeting of the bicentennial committee at 7 p.m. on May 1 at the Smyrna Town Hall.
The town didn’t discover that 2008 would be the year of their bicentennial until early in the year. Town Supervisor James Bays explained that in January or early February, Barb Marso was helping her father to organize some paperwork when she came across a program from the town’s 175th anniversary. It didn’t take long to realize that 2008 would be the year the town would celebrate its 200th anniversary.
“We felt strongly that this should be a citizen-driven event for all of the residents of the village and the town,” Bays said.
Different bicentennial activities have been planned for every month. The first will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Smyrna United Methodist Church. Henry Drexler will provide a slide show presentation of the history of Smyrna. The slide show will include many photos of Smyrna’s history, some of which date back at least 100 years. Light refreshments will follow the presentation, which is sponsored by the Smyrna Bicentennial Committee. A handicap entrance is available at the rear entrance of the church. The committee will be selling souvenirs at this and subsequent events. T-shirts are already available, and the committee is working on obtaining mugs, hats, calendars, pins and pens, which will be available at subsequent events.
The bicentennial committee will also take part in the Smyrna Fire Department’s Mother’s Day Chicken Barbecue, and the Memorial Day Parade. On Mother’s Day, the oldest woman who attends the event will be given a free bicentennial calendar. (A similar event will take place on Father’s Day.)
On Memorial Day, the bicentennial committee and the town will begin what they hope will be an ongoing tradition to honor Smyrna’s veterans. Any veteran who is or was once a Smyrna resident or family members of those veterans, are invited to attend Smyrna’s Memorial Day Parade. Marine Sergeant Major Joseph Angelino will be the guest speaker for the event. Following the ceremony, the town is going to be placing flags and markers on the graves of veterans buried in Smyrna cemeteries. The Town Board is funding the cost of the flags and markers.
“We’re dedicated to start taking care of the cemeteries in Smyrna,” said Town Planning Board Member Terry Pollay. The town hopes they will be able to cover all of the cemeteries in Sherburne this year, but explained that if they are unable to do so, next year they will start with those they missed in 2008. Pollay asked anyone who has a friend or loved one who was a veteran buried in a Smyrna cemetery to contact him at 627-6769, and to ensure those graves are not missed.
More events will follow in the following months. Anyone interested in volunteering to help the bicentennial committee should contact Janice Bassett at 627-6589. Interested parties can also attend the next meeting of the bicentennial committee at 7 p.m. on May 1 at the Smyrna Town Hall.
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