CADILLAC — Four years ago, local historian Richard Shults organized a meeting to discuss the idea of holding a celebration to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the village of Clam Lake in 1871. The meeting wasn’t well attended, so the idea was abandoned. On Saturday, Shults held another meeting, this time to discuss the possibility of a similar type of celebration, although this one would be for the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of the city of Cadillac in 1877.
The meeting Saturday had a much better attendance than the one four years ago and Shults said that gives him hope the idea could become a reality. Celebrations have been held in the past to commemorate the founding of the village of Clam Lake (later incorporated as the city of Cadillac). There were events on the 75th and 100th anniversaries of that event.
Those events were big deals at the time. The 100-year anniversary, for instance, included a week of activities, with each day corresponding to a theme related to the city’s history. There also were parades, an air show, and even a facial-hair growing contest where participants had to sport old-fashioned beard and mustache styles from the 1800s.
The 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Cadillac could have any number of events, Shults said. A lot of ideas have been thrown around, including historical tours, re-enactments of historical events and a concert, to name a few. While ideas are a dime a dozen, Shults said what really matte.
