Hanna Centennial

Just a little teaser for those of you wondering about the Saturday Dance. Remember any of these guys? Following are some bios. Tickets are selling fast so please register early and get you dance tickets. You must be registered to purchase a ticket.

The  Fascinations

The Fascinations were formed in 1965 and consisted of original members Larry Regner, Ewald Moore, and Brian Redgwell on guitar, Harold Schoonmaker on bass, Clark Mathers on drums and Lloyd Derry on keyboard. The band played all over east Central Alberta and western Saskatchewan between 1965 and 1968 during the golden age of Rock ‘n Roll. Roy Johnston and Merlyn Clarkson joined the group in 1968 to replace departing members.

The band was instrumental in the formation of Hanna’s popular teen spot “The Pendulum Club” which featured live groups from all over Alberta most every weekend. They also shared the stage with some of Alberta’s top rock bands of the time at Calgary hot spots “Surfers a Go-Go” and “The Haunted House” and also participated in CKXL’s battle of the bands.

After not playing together for 20 years “The Fascinations” reunited along with “Odium Reproach” to start the first Hanna Rock ‘n Roll Reunion in 1989.  This popular semi-annual event last held in 2003, featured 6 bands all with Hanna roots and gained the reputation as one of the best parties in the province quickly selling out each time.

Tonight original Fascinations Larry, Roy, Harold, Clark and Lloyd along with Terry Whitford, one of Alberta’s best rock guitarists, are extremely excited to participate in the revival of the Hanna Rock ‘n Roll Reunion in celebration of Hanna’s 100^th anniversary.

( Note: at time of writing we are unsure whether Brian Redgwell will also be joining the group)

ODIUM REPROACH

The Odium Reproach started jamming in the summer of 1967. Original members were Jerry Hannah on guitar, Kelly Carnahan on guitar, with the rhythm-section being Don Redgwell on drums and Gordon Edwards on bass. A few months later, Ron Burgemeister completed our band by adding his keyboard. Vocals were handled by Don, Kelly and Gord, depending upon the tune being covered. We played our first gig at the Pendulum Club in November, 1967 for the hefty sum of $80 then played mainly around central Alberta over the next couple of years. Since none of us were old enough to get a driver’s license when we first started, we often relied on older friends to pull our very cool ‘royal-blue with neon orange lettering’ equipment trailer. So when Kelly bought a big ‘58 Plymouth station wagon that could handle all of us as well as pull our trailer, we were ready for the big time …

The band soon developed a regular circuit of high school and community hall gigs including Drumheller, Castor, Consort, Oyen, Viking, Cereal, Three Hills, Strathmore, Brooks and, of course- Hanna’s Legion Hall and the Pendulum Club. We also appreciated our dedicated following of ‘roadies’ (i.e. several buddies from Hanna) that showed up at most of our gigs and helped with our equipment- but mainly came to meet girls from those other towns. Oddly enough, our biggest attendance and pay-day took place at the small community of Morrin where we must have quadrupled the population of that village at one of our typical ‘$buck-at-the-door’ teen dances in the local hall. A career highlight for the Odium Reproach was playing in the CKXL Battle of the Bands at the well-known Piccadilly Square teen club in early 1969. We didn’t win the first prize of a CKXL radio sponsorship, but for five wannabe rock stars it was pretty exciting just to haul our blue and orange trailer into downtown Calgary and play on the same stage as the top recording rock bands of the day.

 None of us would have ever predicted that the Odium Reproach, with some help from Jason Edwards on guitar, would join the Fascinations and several other local musicians for Hanna’s bi-annual Rock ‘n Roll Reunion events many years later. Our band is even more excited about getting back together to participate in Hanna’s Centennial Celebration in 2012. What a wonderful community with a long history of great people.

 Photos Wanted: If anyone happens to have an old photo(s) of the Odium Reproach, please let us know so that we could make five copies and return the original to you. We would really appreciate this and there would be a big reward for any photo provided- a free Backstage Pass to share a beer with the band at the Hanna Centennial Celebration ! Please contact our email @ info@hanna2012.com

Hitek

Hitek was formed in 1987 as a duo by Marty Brooker and Mark Fecho. The pair had been members of a popular Hanna Based country band called Sunrise but wanted to employ some of the new technology and sound of the 80′s.  Feeling that they were just another boy band the pair decided to expand the dynamics by adding a female voice to the mix and  Heather Brown joined the duo in 1992. The trio  have played and entertained  for numerous events in East Central Alberta and have enjoyed every Rock and Roll Reunion. Some of the legends portrayed by Hitek in the opening extraveganza of the Rock and Roll reunions have been Jerry Lee Lewis, Nancy Sinatra, The Archies, Lu Lu, The Beach Boys and even a bit of Doo Wop with Sha na na’s versions of Pretty little Angel Eyes and Blue Moon.

Although the group only entertains a few times a year they still love to travel and meet friends,  old and new in Hanna and surrounding area.

 Look for one of the Legends to come alive again to help celebrate Hanna’s 100 th anniversary

81 days to our Homecoming and Spring is definitely in the air. I trust you had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend and the long weekend is next. A perfect time to start sprucing up our yards and the whole town for all our August visitors. We are expecting lots of people from far and near and many haven’t been home for awhile so lets all do our part by making Hanna a place they will remember for all the care and attention we have put into welcoming them. Many of you have already started by cleaning up your yards and the neighborhoods. I know we have had lots of young crews out picking up the garbage left over from winter. Now the most exciting time is near and we get to plant out those tender bedding plants. In honor of our 100 year history consider planting a heritage garden. Varieties include Beefsteak Tomatoes, Tendergreen Beans, Cylinder Beets, Danvers and Nantes Coreless Carrots, National Pickling Cucumbers, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Homesteader Peas and Hubbard Squash. Finish it off with some onions and potatoes and you have the making of some good old fashion feasting. Lets not forget our flowers. Zinnias, Snapdragons, Asters, Marigolds and Nasturtiums are some showy annuals and don’t forget those perennials like Peony, Monkshood, Geranium and Columbine which will come back year after year to delight. The great thing about heritage seed is that it will produce seed each year which you can save to use next year. Our Grand Parents were thrifty and smart.If you need help just seek out one of your neighbors that has a garden. One thing I know is that gardeners are always happy to share their knowledge and don’t forget out local garden centers who make sure they have knowledgeable staff on to answer your questions. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

If you have some spare time you could offer your services to the parks or Town to help get things looking their best. Maybe you like to paint and could help spruce up some of our older buildings. This is the year to make Hanna shine and it will take all of us. Call  the Learning Center (403-854-2099) to volunteer. They can make connections for you.

Communities in Bloom has a unique opportunity to purchase a memorial planter that will be set out around town. For $100 dollars they will plant a half barrel with flowers and place a plaque with the persons name you would like honored. It can be in Memorium or to remember a special person or event such as a birth, marriage or maybe when they settled in Hanna. Please call the Town of Hanna Office for more details and to order. (403-854-4433)

So THINK 100 :  plant100 flowers…100 hours of clean up…100 ways to make Hanna beautiful.

Our Committee is incredibly excited to announce another major sponsor has come forward to help us. The good people at Enerplus have offered to help us set up a great stage for our opening and closing ceremonies and dances.It will have all the bells and whistles including big screens to insure everyone will have a great view. Thank you so much Enerplus!

Just a quick update. If you would like to volunteer please call the Learning Centre (403-854-2099)to have you name added to the list. We will be matching people to positions so be sure to let them know what days, how many hours and if you have a preference of types of jobs. We will be looking for Security, Hosts, Bartenders, Ticket takers, Set up, clean up, take down, registration, just to name a few. The countdown is on with less than 100 days to go so we hope everyone is getting as excited as the planning committee. Registrations are coming in fast so be sure you have signed up.

Peggy Hanna Griffith celebrating her 95th Birthday with her family wishing Hanna Happy 100. Peggy is the Gran daughter of D.B.Hanna who Hanna is named after.

Please check out the information on the History Book Launch. These can be found under Other Events and at the bottom of the registration page. Please note that orders and payments are made to the Hanna History Book NOT the Hanna Centennial. Order soon. Books will be available for pick up at the Centennial Event.