JULY 3, 2019
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Lord Mayor of London Tea Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser On Friday, July 21, the Mannville Historical Society held up the longstanding tradition of celebrating Sir Peter Drury Haggerston Gadsden, Mannvilleborn Lord Mayor of London. Gadsden was born in Mannville on June 28, 1929, where his father Basil Gadsden was the Anglican minister. When Peter Gadsden was five, his family returned to England and he was raised in Shropshire. After graduating in 1952, Gadsden joined Fergusson Wild & Co and became a minerals trader, and from there built up a significant business career. He was appointed Sheriff of the City of London in 1970, became an alderman for the ward of Farringdon Without for close to thirty years, and was Lord Mayor of London from 1979-80 at the relatively young age of fifty. He returned to Mannville six times before his death in 2006, and was reportedly “very friendly” towards the townspeople there. Lilian Konieczny, president of the Mannville Historical Society, says that they remember Sir Peter Gadsden as an important part of remembering their history. “We are very proud of the Lord Mayor of London being born in Mannville, in 1929, I believe it was,” Konieczny said, “It is significant history, and as the Historical Society we are charged with remembering the history of Mannville.”
Though the event has had a standing date for a number of years, there was a smaller attendance than the Historical Society would have liked to see. “Maybe people are starting to forget,” commented Konieczny. In the last couple of years, Mannville has celebrated many significant anniversaries. “The old hospital is gone, but it would be 100 years old this year,” Konieczny said. “Mannville Co-op is celebrating 100 years, the AGT was 100 last year, and the hotel was built in 1915.” Traditional English tea and snacks was held free of charge at the library throughout the day to celebrate the Lord Mayor, and the idea that great men can indeed come from small places.
The Common Cup Company Concert Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent The Common Cup Company performed a Christ and community-oriented concert which was co-sponsored and hosted by St. Mary Anglican Church and Vegreville United Church at Vegreville United Church on June 15. This event started off with a potluck where people were able to meet the group’s members which consist of Bob Wallace on vocals and guitar, Gordon Light on vocals and guitar, Richard Betts on bass and vocals, Scott McDonald on drums and vocals, and Lloyd MacLean on keyboard and vocals. The members live many different places across Canada and they traveled so they could get together for their Prairie Tour. This group has been performing for 37 years and they write all their own songs which are about faith, hope, justice, refugees, and the love of God. They get their inspiration from issues the church and Christians face which include birth, life, and death, how the church relates to issues in the environment, and on justice issues. They also try to have scripturebased songs which reflect on how the spirit works in us. They have a folk influence to their music and they have been in the church’s song repertoire for more than 35 years. Their music has a
contemporary feel to it because they use drums and bass in it. Common Cup Company said each song they perform touch different people in different ways. They just want to help people with their lives and help people in distress. The most meaningful part they get from performing is the reaction they received from people. They like it when people have a chance to talk a different way about faith from what they grew up with. The first song, ‘River Run Deep’ was energetic and uplifting. The concert continued with fun songs, serious songs, and meaningful songs. These musicians requested for the audience to sing-a-long to each of the songs they performed. They told the story behind each song before they performed it. The song, ‘No Farewells was about dying and there are no farewells, only new beginnings. The audience offered their impressions. Caroline Knowles said the concert was great because it was very infectious and appealing. David Holehouse who came from Sherwood Park said the group was awesome because they talked about the earth and they talked about death and the circle of life, and our inter-connective relationship with nature which is God’s creation. They have a great sense of humor too.
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