The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
This is the conclusion of a two-part series about Dominion Day.
The celebrations of 1897, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Confederation and the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign, bolstered a feeling of patriotism and optimistic nationalism that persisted until the start of the First World War in 1914.
During this period, Dominion Day supplanted Victoria Day as the most important national holiday.
The war changed the direction of nationalism completely. The grim realities of the war and a steady flow of news from the quagmire battlefields of France combined to redirect patriotic feelings into war-bond campaigns and Patriotic League activities.
Elora exceeded other towns its size in contributions to these efforts.
No one was in the mood for Dominion Day celebrations during the war.
The federal government had been making plans for a large celebration for the 50th anniversary of Confederation in 1917, but the program was virtually eliminated when the war persisted into that year.
Dominion Day fell into decline in the post-war period, and was not observed by any special events in Elora in the early 1920s. In 1927, for the 60th anniversary of Confederation, the federal government revived some of the activities originally planned for 1917.
The country had a new symbol – the peace tower of the new parliament buildings in Ottawa. The original buildings had burned in 1916. The celebrations of 1927 revived some of the flavour of pre-war Dominion Days, promoting a feeling of prosperity and optimism for Canada’s future.
Elora joined enthusiastically in the 1927 celebrations. Flags and bunting appeared on stores, houses and utility poles. A major parade marched up the main street; the afternoon featured a baseball game, and the day concluded with a street dance.
In the years after 1927, Dominion Day enjoyed a sporadic history in Elora. During the 1930s, Fergus usually held events on Victoria Day, and Elora on Dominion Day, but this arrangement was never agreed on formally.
Elora’s Dominion Day celebrations reached their peak in the late 1940s and 1950s, under the sponsorship of the Lions Club, which was by far the most active service club in the village in those years. The Lions really roared in 1951, with the first of a series of Dominion Day Jamborees. Signs and decorations went up on the main street – including totem poles and other Indigenous themes, similar to those used occasionally on Dominion Days in the 19th century. Local artist Russ Plyley was responsible for much of the work. The morning featured bicycle and soapbox car races on Geddes and Metcalfe Streets.
The 1951 Dominion Day went into top gear in the afternoon, with a parade led by the RCAF band from Trenton. Local industries and business competed for the award for the best float. The prize was captured by the Mundell Furniture Co., with a re-creation of an 1890s streetcar. The other Elora factories also had entries, including a calliope by the Elora Furniture Co. Chuck Sturrock’s “Dream Home,” and the square dancers on the Drimmie float also attracted many favourable comments.
Member of parliament Henry Hosking and other dignitaries offered a few remarks at Irvine Park in the afternoon but, in keeping with Dominion-Day tradition, the speeches were very short, and the crowd went back to the various games, entertainment offerings, an air show, and hotdogs and ice cream. The day concluded with a street dance, with music by the CKNX Ranch Boys, at the time a very popular group playing regularly on the Wingham radio station.
The 1951 Dominion Day established a tradition for the 1950s, but in the early 1960s, the day again went into eclipse. Interest revived in the middle of the decade, as the centennial of 1867 approached. Elora’s centennial committee began work early in 1967, planning events through the year, as well as for July 1.
Dominion Day 1967 was preceded on June 18 by a “bury the hatchet” ceremony with Fergus, when elected officials of Elora and Fergus initiated a new era of cooperation between the communities by burying a hatchet on the grounds of Wellington Place. Many attended the ceremonies and other events in period costume.
Dominion Day itself, on July 1, 1967, followed many of the traditions that had been built up locally over the preceding century. The day started with a parade and later in the day residents and visitors had their choice of a horse show, white-water canoe races in the Grand River, and a Junior B lacrosse game with Rexdale (Elora won 18-3). Following tradition, the day concluded with a street dance.
Organizers of the 1912 event, celebrating 125 years of Confederation, drew on many of the local Dominion Day traditions: a time for relaxation, friends and families, and a little fun. As in the past, it was a day for people, not politicians.
Flags and bunting reminded of the meaning of the day, which, with Canada’s understated brand of nationalism, is often too easy to forget.
*This column was originally published in the Elora Sentinel on June 30, 1992.
