The village of Strongfield is proving that no matter how small a community may be, it’s capable of bouncing back from disaster perhaps better than ever.
The village curling rink, which was levelled in a violent windstorm this past July, is once again taking shape as local residents eagerly anticipate the re-opening of their beloved community hub.
Insurance managed to cost the basic reconstruction of the facility, as well as some electrical needs, but the Strongfield rec board opted to begin a fundraising campaign to make new additions to the facility and upgrade it to make it more efficient and last longer, at least barring another catastrophic event resulting from Mother Nature’s bad temper.
One of the ways that the village has raised funds is their Line 19 Christmas Party, which was held this past Saturday night, December 9 in the Strongfield Community Hall. With 250 tickets that were pre-sold, attendees enjoyed a catered meal and a live performance by Brad Johner, as well as a seemingly-endless number of auction items to bid on.
Organizers were floored with the amount of donated items that came in, and that the level of support shown to Strongfield has been amazing.
Holly Vollmer of the rec board told The Outlook that the final numbers were being worked out in relation to how much had been raised from the night, but said that the organizers were very happy with the success of the event and they had surpassed their fundraising goal of $5,000.
The success of such an event, paired with the generosity shown by people in the wake of the curling rink’s demise, means that it’s going to be much sooner rather than much later that the rocks will once again slide down the pebbled ice and Strongfield residents will come back together under the roof of the facility to congregate and enjoy it for generations to come.
The village hopes to raise roughly $40,000 to $50,000 for repairs, new additions and upgrades to the new curling rink.
At the time of this issue, the metal shell of the new rink had been put up, and workers had also been busy attaching tin to the outside walls, a job that was expected to be done within the next week.
Around 40 people may comprise the village of Strongfield, but the dedication and spirit shown by residents in having the lifeblood of their community return to prominence is evidence that anything just might be possible, no matter the size of where one calls home.
