To the Editor:

In 2010, 8 members of the Parishville Historical Association had the first meeting about the 2014 Bicentennial. We had no idea what we were getting into! After 4 years of planning, fund raising, begging and worrying, the celebration we envisioned came to be.

We would like to thank everyone who helped bring about a weekend of friends and family celebrating the 200th anniversary of our small close-knit town.

We would like to thank all of the local businesses who helped with monetary donations:

Adon Farms, Parishville Sand and Gravel, NUMED, Mort Backus and Sons, Sunfeather Soaps, Parishville Ladies Auxiliary, Parishville Ladies Integrated Auxiliary, JC Merrimans Inc., MX Fuels, Potsdam Elks Club and all of the local residents who individually donated money (too numerous to count).

A big thank you goes out to Robert Wickwire who we enticed out of retirement to help keep us organized and on track and who had lots of great ideas. Thank you to Bob Larue who took the time to produce the video presentation on the history of Parishville which included interviews with some of the local residents. It was enjoyed by all!

Thank you to Parishville Fire Chief Ed Cool for organizing the wonderful parade and to all the participants near and far who came to help us celebrate. A big thank you to George Cox who coordinated the Car Show and set up the music performances throughout the weekend. They were great!

Thank you to Northern Music for the use of the sound system and to the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce for letting us borrow the stage for our bands. Thank you to Martin’s for transporting the stage and a big thank you to Highway Superintendent Pat Remington and the Highway Dept. for all of the work that went into setting up. Thank you to Jeff Woods for keeping track of the activities at the beach and for organizing workers for the weekend.

Thank you to Zach Votra for manning the soundboard and sound system for all of our musical groups. Thank you to Lori Knowles, Claudia McIntosh and Kermit Blanchard for organizing all of the events for the children at the beach and to Kari Tremper for putting together the Dirty Duck Run, the 5K walk, run and the Youth soccer tournament.

Thank you to Stewarts for providing free ice cream, which was thoroughly enjoyed by young and old on a hot day and thanks to Kinney Drugs for supplying bottled water for our events! Thank you to PHCS for providing a venue for our March celebration and for the use of equipment for our movie, and for providing a bus to shuttle people from one place to another. Thanks to Crystal Sullivan for driving all day with a big smile on her face!

Thank you to the music department at PHCS for the entertainment at our March celebration and our dedication ceremony on Friday night. Thank you to the Parishville AMVETs for the Friday night chicken barbecue and the block dance and the use of the facility throughout the weekend. Thank you to all of the groups who provided refreshments and food throughout the weekend to all of our hungry and thirsty attendants.

Thanks to volunteers Kilian McIntosh and John Smith for helping on the horse drawn tours and to Tim Hatch and Monica Stone for providing lots of fun with their beautiful horses and wagons. A huge thank you to the Parishville Masonic Lodge for providing the fireworks for Saturday night that were enjoyed by all!! Thanks to Randy LaValley for doing a great job with the fireworks and to Jeff and Jane James for allowing them to be launched from their lawn.

Thanks to Connie Harper for taking lots and lots of photos to commemorate the weekend. We will share them on the Town of Parishville’s Facebook page.

We would also like to thank the Parishville Fire Dept., Rescue Squad and Dive Team for their continuous service and for being on standby all weekend and keeping us all safe

It was so great to see entire families home together for the first time in a long time and old friends connecting like no time had gone by.

I apologize if I forgot to mention someone and see you in two hundred years for the next celebration!

The Parishville Bicentennial Committee