Troy Township – Troy Township celebrated 200 years this past weekend as they resurrected their Homecoming that had fizzled out several years ago. This year’s event was very similar to days gone by with added events for a modern day flair.
The celebration started Friday night with the first-ever Troy Idol. The idol contest was emceed by Linda Cain and had the following format: Each of the nine performers would sing before the audience and three judges, with the top five performers moving on to the final round. The top six ended up moving on due to a tie. When the last note was sung and the judges deliberated Maria Vrenko from Chardon was declared Troy Idol 2011. Runner-up was Caitlin Overton from Concord, Ohio and Garrettsville’s Kenny Brigham finished third. Congratulations to the winners.
Saturday was a jam-packed day with an Amish softball game, horseshoe competition, cornhole contest K-9 demonstration and more.
One of the highlights of the day was the garden tractor pulls. The event followed the Ohio Garden Tractor Pullers Association (OGTPA) rules, had a variety of garden tractors with folks of all ages competing. Those not participating staked out a claim to watch the pulls. For those who were not into pulls, Saturday evening could sit under the pavilion and listen to music, take a cruise through the Community House to see the memorabilia from past events, see the contents of the time capsule that was buried in 1976, and a craft show. The evening closed out with contra dancing in the Community House.
Sunday started off with worship followed by the car show, community chicken dinner, K-9 demonstration, tractor pulls, a grand parade and more. Late in the day a new time capsule was assembled, ready to be preserved for a later time. The event closed out with a 50/50 drawing, auction and raffles.
The celebration brought out folks from all phases of life to celebrate the townships 200th Birthday. The old-timers spent much of the day reminiscing and getting reacquainted with their neighbors. The younger crowd came to eat, listen to music, watch tractor pulls, hang with friends and create memories of their own so in 25 years they will have something to reminisce about. All in all, it was a good celebration that took folks back to a simpler time with a modern day pizzazz.
Happy Birthday Troy!
