Photos by Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
The Town of Marshall had Grey Cup fever last weekend as the Saskatchewan Roughriders rolled in as part of the Richardson Pioneer Community Celebration.
Marshall was one of six communities throughout Saskatchewan to receive $25,000 in grant funding, which will be used for upgrades to the communities’ rink.
The day kicked off with a pancake breakfast before Roughriders alumni, Riders’ cheerleaders, and the Grey Cup came cruising down main street as part of the celebration’s parade.
The parade was quickly followed by a cheque presentation before the highly-anticipated outhouse races began.
“I think this was super exciting for the town. It’s a great little town and I think the residents deserve to have something like this for themselves; this all means that Marshall is alive and kicking, and it’s important that these small towns keep going,” said one of the event’s many organizers and Marshall mayor, Darlene Puckey.
“We work hard on trying to keep the town going, you know. There’s not a lot of money kicking around for these small towns, so when we get an opportunity to keep our rink and our hall going, it’s important we take that opportunity and look after them.”
Puckey explained concrete was recently laid in the town’s rink allowing use 365 days per year, but more improvements are coming.
“We just need to improve the dressing room and walkway areas, they were getting rundown,” she said.
“The player’s benches also have to be replaced as they are getting run down. We’re also changing things so the Zamboni will come out onto the ice instead of driving all the way around to the back of the building.”
Belton Johnson, who is originally from Mississippi and wore #58 for the Riders from 2006-2009, was in attendance last weekend to show his support for a community that bleeds green.
Former Rider Belton Johnson was in the Town of Marshall last weekend for Grey Cup festivities as the town received $25,000 in funding for arena improvements.
“For me, it’s about giving back to the community,” said Johnson. “I played for the Riders for a number of years and my thing was always giving back to the community, so we’re kicking off the Grey Cup festivities and everything here today.
“Just being out here with the town is amazing, and there’s some amazing people in Marshall, I absolutely love them.”
“Being here is a big deal for us, but it’s also a big deal for the town,” said Johnson.
“As soon as we pulled into town on the bus with the big Rider logo on it people were out waving, and I think even when we were coming down Highway 16, people were driving up beside the bus and were waving at us.
“Being a smaller town, this is a big deal, and not often do these people get to meet former players in a live setting like this.”
The festivities wrapped up with a dance and fireworks, and Puckey wanted to thank L&L Oilfield, PWM Steel, and 20 After Four in Lloydminster for putting up the funding to cover the cost of fireworks.
“We had fireworks kick off the dance at 8:15 p.m. and they were absolutely the most spectacular fireworks I have seen in a long, long time,” she said.
The Grey Cup is being held in Regina on Nov. 20.
