July 1, 2014

AS I SEE IT

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Throwing a 100th anniversary party for a community is no easy job. It takes years of planning and hard work by hundreds of volunteers who are willing to put together the history book, the recipe book, arrange for entertainment, food, vendors, and an all school reunion. Plus there are those volunteers that are associated with promoting the event, coordinating all of the special activities and coming up with contingency plans in the event of cancellations, bad weather or whatever else could possibly throw a monkey wrench into the celebration.
And this past weekend, all of the hard work and effort that those volunteers put into throwing Watford City’s Party of the Century were readily apparent. Talk about a well-oiled machine. The free entertainment all three days was top-notch with groups that appealed to every age group. And so it was with every other event over the weekend - from the Film Festival to the Centennial Art Show, from Art in the Park to Heritage Days.
Everyone who was involved in the organizing of Watford City’s Centennial Celebration should feel extremely proud that all of their effort made this a very special weekend.
For the thousands of former Watford City residents who returned home to a community that they had maybe not seen in decades, I’m sure they left knowing that even though we are no longer the small city that they left so many years ago, we are still a community that hasn’t forgotten its roots. And more importantly, we know how to celebrate our heritage and throw a pretty darn good “welcome home” party as well.
So on behalf of all of the people who returned home, as well as those that now call Watford City “home,” a big tip of the hat goes out to everyone involved in making our Centennial Celebration such a memorable weekend.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER