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The
Lucknow Town Hall is 100 years old and the community plans to celebrate
that milestone with a full slate of activities on Saturday, Sept. 11. An opening and dedication will be held on the building's front steps at 12:30 p.m., followed by several activities: - Lucknow Sepoy Ranees (Red Hat Ladies) tea, 1-3 p.m. in the tent, to be located behind the town hall
- Card party at 3 p.m. in the basement
- Walk Down Memory Lane, featuring displays by groups that have used the town hall, 1-4 p.m., in the tent
- Library open house, 1-4 p.m.
- Entertainment in the tent, 1-4 p.m.
- Dress-up and On Stage with Heather Sande in the theatre auditorium upstairs, 1-4 p.m.
- Quilter's Guild Display in the basement, 1-4 p.m.
- Speaker's Corners in the basement, for people to share their town hall memories, 1-4 p.m.
- Old Tyme Dance with Boyd's Orchestra in the tent, 8 p.m. to midnight
The
township received a Celebrations Canada grant of $8,600 for this event,
so all activities are free except for the dance which has an admission
of $5 per person. Some historic facts about the Lucknow Town Hall: - A
grant of $7,500 from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation assisted with the
$10,000 cost of building the Lucknow Town Hall. A stipulation for the
grant was that a Carnegie Library must be in the building and that it
receive an annual municipal grant. John Joynt, reeve of Lucknow,
officially opened the town hall on June 6, 1910.
- Over
the years, the town hall has been the "meeting place" for Lucknow and
area. Many years ago, the town's jail cell was located there, and the
building housed the municipal offices until Lucknow amalgamated with
Huron and Kinloss in January, 1999.
- The Library has
undergone many changes throughout the years, first being the Lucknow
Library with its own board, and then joining the Bruce County Library
system in 1967. The library was honoured to have Lucy Maude Montgomery
attend the second annual book fair in 1939. In 2008, the library was
expanded into the old municipal offices, and a handicapped washroom was
made on the main floor. The portrait of Andrew Carnegie and the
original wood floor are still grace the library.
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Lucknow Town Hall
- Scouting
and Guiding groups, Senior and Junior Institute groups,
Horticultural Society, and Quilters Guild have all met in the town hall
over the years. Many social gatherings, such as anniversaries,
birthdays, showers and card parties, have been held there as well.
- When
the school burned down in 1969, many classes were held in the town
hall.
- Many
town meetings concerning the post office, school and hospital have been
held there.
- The
upstairs of the town hall has been the venue for many plays and dances
over the years. In December, 2002, the Huron-Kinloss (H-K) Players,
now known as HAWK Theatre, performed their first play, "The Best
Christmas Pageant Ever," in the town hall. Now, theatregoers enjoy the
HAWK Theatre's annual spring and Christmas productions.
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