St. Marys welcomes everyone 'home' this weekend as grads and tourists gather
The town of St. Marys is celebrating this long weekend with a party five years — and a pandemic delay — in the making.
It is Homecoming-Heritage Weekend, and that means plenty of activities and memories in Stonetown.
Already complete, a parade and fireworks show on Friday. But the main events are scheduled for this weekend.
Ongoing Saturday, a carnival atmosphere downtown, featuring bouncy castles, displays, food trucks and sales from local merchants.
A parade enters the downtown of St. Marys on July 1, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)But the key event is an all-years reunion at St. Marys District Collegiate and Vocational Institute, the local high school, where thousands of former students are visiting the school to reunite with old classmates.
Organizers have set up displays for each decade of graduates in different rooms of the school, stretching back to the 1940s.
1960s graduate, Nancy Bickel, said it is wonderful to see old friends, and added with a smile that she still knows her way to the principal’s office.
“Definitely! Yes, we had a lot of fun and we learned lots of things and made a lot of friends here,” she said.
It turns out, that Nancy was eyeing up a friend's brother throughout high school. But she did not "get serious” with Clare, her husband of 48 years, until after graduation. The pair attended the reunion together.
Nancy and Clare Bickell, as seen at their old high school, St. Marys DVCI, during an all-years reunion on July 2, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) “I used to think he was pretty cute, but he was a year or two younger than me,” Nancy told CTV News London.
Meanwhile, St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee is thrilled to see so many visitors in town.
“It’s so funny, because almost every time you see someone, you say, ‘Oh I haven’t seen you since, oh yeah, pre-COVID,’” he said.
The St. Marys Homecoming-Heritage weekend concludes Sunday with a church service and front porch reunion show.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.