It was a weekend for those that had left Hudson Bay over the years to return and meet to relive old memories.
“It was Canada’s 150 birthday,” said Betty Lou Palko, the organizer of the town’s homecoming, “and I had some people who lived away from Hudson Bay for quite a few years who have been pressuring me to have another homecoming so that they could have a chance to come back to their old hometown before they got too old to be able to do it.”
The homecoming, which took place from Aug. 18 to 20, featured a show and shine, breakfasts, a parade, a quilt show, children’s races at the museum, a slo-pitch tournament, a dance at the arena – there was standing room only, and fireworks.
There was also the annual heritage days at the Al Mazur Memorial Heritage Park, which featured threshing demos, a petting zoo, bouncy castles, train rides, a Ferris wheel, a sound stage and a new clay oven for bread.
“The homecoming is great because it brings in extra people that wouldn’t normally come home this weekend, so we have a bigger crowd,” said Brooklynn Schade, the park’s manager.
The heritage days raise money to keep the park operational.
Palko said she was pleased with how the homecoming went.
“I think [it went] awesome, fabulous, phenomenal. Every venue that I talked to was happy with how things went.”
The organizer said there were 987 that registered on the evening of the 18th, but there were many more – including four school reunions – that didn’t. In the end, she believes there were 2,000 that came back home, with the furthest coming from Texas and the Yukon.
“There was one couple from Québec that was passing through – they were just traveling through – and they saw all of the merriment that seemed to be going on in the park and they ended up staying for the day.”
Visitors also came to share memories. While there wasn’t a venue for an open mic session, those that attended chatted with each other, with memories piqued by photos of the past displayed at the arena.
Palko said she’s looking forward to the next homecoming, but added she wants to do that not as an organizer, but as a participant.
