BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Editor
The citizens of Union County came out on Saturday to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of their home and, as always in UC, to meet and greet all of their friends and catch up on what is happening with them and their families.
The celebration began on Thursday, Sept. 30 with an actual court proceeding on the second floor of the historic Woman’s Club (which was the original Union County courthouse and was moved when it was repurposed. The second floor was, in fact, the courtroom and was easily rearranged to serve that purpose again.
Later on the evening of Sept. 30, Union County High School held it annual Tiger Growl homecoming event, with much of the program designed to be in line with the historical theme of the weekend. This theme was continued in the annual Homecoming parade held the next day, Oct. 1.
The Union County Historical Museum opened a two day virtual Walk Through History, held on the bottom floor of the historic Townsend building in downtown Lake Butler (the second floor of which is home to the permanent museum display). The day was completed with the UCHS Homecoming football game, which the Tigers won, 47-0.
The day began early on the main day of the celebration, with a 5K Fun Run at 7 a.m. and a fishing tournament beginning at 7:30 a.m.
The actual historic action began at 10 a.m. with the opening of the time capsule outside the courthouse. The capsule was originally put in place and sealed on May 15, 1993, then opened and resealed on July 4, 2000. It was opened again in honor
of the centennial and items were renewed and replaced by new ones.
While the speeches were still echoing from the courthouse lawn, the car show was beginning on the lawn of the Woman’s Club across from the lake. Opening at the same time were the second day of the museum’s virtual history display, the first trip of the Woman’s Club trolley ride, the clubs open house event and the displays created by the several municipalities in the county, showcased at the Hal Y. Maines Community Center. The items taken from the time capsule were put on display in the community center as well. Including a box of Band aids, a list of registered voters from 1993, a key to the city of Lake Butler and a Champion spark plug. Vendor booths and food trucks also opened for the day’s business at this time.
At the main stage at Lakeside Park the first of many talks and performances of live music began at 11 a.m. with the county commissioners reading the proclamation the commission had approved declaring the celebration as a county event. Music for the rest of the morning was provided by a DJ, with talks by Property Appraiser Bruce Dukes and Dot Green (concerning Black history) interspersed with the music.
In the afternoon the musical performances continued, ranging from soloists to bands. Throughout the day short presentations were made, recognizing elementary school artists and the civic group 20 Strong. Local favorite Sondra Hunt was on hand with her band to cap off the evening and keep the crowd happy until the fireworks began just a few minutes after dusk.
The crowd, which ranged from about 100 at the start of the day to about 500 hundred or more for the fireworks, were well behaved and all seemed to be enjoying the social gathering popular in the county. Many lingered, even after the last rocket fizzled, still talking and joking with one another.
Most would say the event was a success, through the efforts of the historical society and a committee formed for the purpose by the Union County Board of Commissioners and led by Commissioner Ryan Perez. It was obvious the amount of planning and work that was put forth by all of the organizers to make the event a real birthday bash for the county.
The sentiment was expressed multiple time in a myriad of ways at the events and by the many visitors to the event, but just one more time can’t hurt…so…from the Union County Times…HappyBirthday Union County!
