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150th Anniversary float
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By Susan Jones
It rained on the Rainmaker Rodeo parade but nothing could dampen the community spirit felt by volunteers with the St. Albert 150th Anniversary Celebration float on Saturday, May 29, 2010.
"When I heard kids shouting that they had caught a bubble, I knew they recognized the party feel of the float. Parades are for kids, and even though it was raining, the kids seemed to like the float," said Bob Locicero, who together with fellow volunteer Louise Height spent almost six months in the construction of the float.
The float itself is a tiny snapshot of St. Albert's best-known icons. The hump over the fifth-wheel hitch became a model of Mission Hill. The artists took a figurative slide down the imaginary hill to depict the colourful old Bruin Inn, Profiles Gallery, the Community Hall, the brick clock tower on the corner of Perron Street and of course, a curving representation of St. Albert Place. Three bubble machines and The Beatles' Birthday, added to the celebratory mood.
Locicero began designing the float back in January. So far he has logged 400 volunteer hours in its construction, while Louise Height contributed a further 165 hours. The artists stayed true to the 150th Anniversary Committee's mission by "cherishing our past, honouring our present and igniting the spirit of the future."
"I began by taking photos of Mission Hill and by studying the Black Robe's Vision history books," Locicero explained, adding that he decided to portray the historical portion of the float in black and white, so that it would look similar to the old black and white photos he was studying.
Locicero took a page from the movie the Wizard of Oz and added technicolour to depict modern St. Albert at the base of the black and white hill. The bridge over the river shows a black and white cart heading one way and a sporty BMW going towards the colourful new part of town.
A large central courtyard ties together Locicero's concept of downtown St. Albert. "I wanted the paving stones to suggest that this area around Perron Street and by City Hall is the heart of the community," Locicero said, adding that the sparkly pole at the back of the float features two youthful-looking mannequins who are shooting a ball to the future.
The float sustained some damage during the rainstorm but for the most part it fared very well in its first parade through the streets of St. Albert. In the future it will be in other parades and will serve as a backdrop and meeting place for many of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations in 2011.
"It's no big deal. Probably it will need 20 or 30 more hours to fix it and perhaps to change a few things," Locicero said, adding that he hopes to get it back into a few parades soon, but he had to attend to his own business before getting the repairs done.
"I put my own business on hold so I could get the float ready for the Rainmaker. But I love this town. It has a charm like no other, so we'll get the float back on the road before long," he said.
Little-unknown fact
On May 2, 1962 three non-curlers signed a demand note with the Bank of Nova Scotia in the amount of $90,000 to enable the St. Albert Curling Club to construct an indoor curling club. Those men were: Ronald H. Harvey, W.A. (Bill) Penrose and Fred Laird. None of these men had the proverbial "pot to pee in" but were anxious to help those who were interested in the sport!
Eventually the Town of St. Albert was ordered by the Provincial Government of the day to "take over" the loan.
~ Irene Harvey
St. Albert Host Lions Club
topWe thank the St. Albert Host Lions Club for sharing a copy of their 1952 Official Charter 
[6 MB] document signifying the establishment of their organization.
