Once just six small islands, the spit of land between Rondeau Bay and Lake Erie known as Erieau turned 100 this month.
And thanks to a solid core of fulltime residents in the small village, the birthday party began with a “Ringing of the Bell” ceremony last week and will continue throughout the year with many festivities planned.
Led by former Reeve Jerry Dalton and longtime Erieau resident Jeff Vidler, the 100th Anniversary Committee has been hard at work to make this year unforgettable for residents and visitors.
With a packed house for the opening ceremony Apr. 5 at the fire hall in the village, Dalton introduced the only surviving veteran from the Second World War, Clint Warren.
Warren was one of the many who enlisted to help fight overseas, giving Erieau the distinction of having the highest per capita enlistment during the war.
“We have a long military history here; one we can be proud of,” Vidler told the assembled crowd. “Our cenotaph is a testament to the young men and women who left our village to serve in both world wars, police actions, and in the Middle East.”
Vidler said during the Second World War, every single able-bodied man in the village enlisted, and three lost their lives, “paying the ultimate price.”
Two of the oldest citizens in the village took part in a flag raising with Warren; Ervina Huffman and Eva Apfeld, and then the ringing of the bell at the firehouse, with family members from the founding families and local dignitaries.
Speaking on some of the history of Erieau, Dalton went back to the late 1600s when Rondeau Bay (Round Water) was discovered and named, and the land between it and Lake Erie started out as six small islands.
The new peninsula didn’t get its first development until the 1840s when Lord Simcoe asked for two permanent piers to be installed so the military could get boats through to Shrewsbury. Fishing was discovered on a commercial level by the 1870s, and by 1892, the first train came to Erieau and people started buying up property. Combining the name for the piers – Eau – with the lake name – Erie – resulted in the name of the village.
The government put in a new cement pier with a lighthouse that has become an iconic and much-photographed part of the landscape, and by 1915, Erieau was growing quickly with a booming commercial fishing industry and hotels, but a road was needed. The Kerrs and Shillingtons were instrumental in getting the town incorporated on Apr. 5, 1917 and a year later, a road was built.
Announced at the opening ceremony by Chantal Larochelle of the Federal Department of Oceans and Fisheries is a $1 million project to be completed by this fall to upgrade the west pier. She said the local Small Craft Harbour committee volunteers are vital to keeping the harbor safe and accessible for the commercial fishing industry. Since 1998, Larochelle said the Erieau Harbour Authority has been ensuring the harbor is a safe place to visit and the needs of the industry are met.
Mary Remington, born Mary Vidler, was at the ceremony at the firehall and said it was wonderful to take part in the bell ringing and have the entire community on hand to celebrate the 100th birthday. Her late brother was OJ Vidler of Molly and OJs, and she has a long history in the village.
The anniversary committee has many more events planned throughout the year, starting with a Boulevard Yard Sale and Car Wash put on the by the Erieau Firefighters on June 3, Trot to the Beach June 11 and a Car Show on the Boulevard June 25.
For more information on coming events, go to the group’s Facebook page, Erieau’s 100th Anniversary.
