Sackville Patriot Days 2005-Tom Gray Memorial Town Crier Competition

In the heat of the afternoon on Sunday, July 3rd, six very loud- and probably very warm- men in historic costume braved the hot sun to attend the Tom Gray Memorial Town Crier Competition, held in our very own Kinsmen Park on the shores of First Lake. The competition, which was part of this year's Sackville Patriot Days celebrations, was held in memory of the late Tom Gray, who was Sackville's official town crier and an avid and much-loved volunteer in our community. Mr. Gordon Morgan emceed the event, first giving a brief biography of Tom Gray detailing the many volunteer activities he was committed to, and then introducing each town crier as they stepped up and unrolled their scroll. There were six criers in total, each representing a town or area of Nova Scotia. Mr. Morgan provided a description of each crier's attire as each man walked down the gravel path to the gazebo, flanked by marching veterans and accompanied by bagpipes.

Each crier began his proclamation with a cry of "oh yea, oh yea" and the ringing of a bell, then went on to deliver greetings from his town or municipality in a clear, loud voice. The judges gave points on things like speed, volume, and clarity of message. The first to proclaim his message was Gerald Randall, the town crier of Pugwash. The next was Gary Zwicker, Chester's town crier; then came Peter Cox, representing the HRM. Next up was Peter Davies from Annapolis Royal, Bob Raoul from East Hants, and, last but not least, George Dooley, town crier of Westville, NS. There were a few laughs during the competition courtesy of HRM's Peter Cox; at one point he fell behind the procession, earning a laugh from the audience with his comical scurrying to catch up, and his highly amusing reaction to nearly sitting on his bell after delivering his message also lightened the mood. The winner of the Town Crier competition was Peter Davies; first runner-up was George Dooley; second runner-up was Gary Zwicker. Valerie Davies, one of the four lovely escorts, won the title of Best Dressed Lady for her yellow dress complete with petticoats, chemise, laced corset and beautiful straw hat, all of which she made herself. Tom Grey's granddaughter, Beverley Grey, handed out flowers to each of the escorts, the judges, and her grandmother, Dolly Grey. The competition ended with the criers leaving the gazebo in a procession, accompanied, once again, by the music of the bagpipes. The Tom Gray Memorial Town Crier Competition was a wonderful event for many reasons, but perhaps the most important reason is that it honoured the memory of one of Sackville's most dedicated volunteers. The Patriot Days celebrations give the people of our community a reason to be proud of Sackville; the Town Crier competition gives the community a reason to be proud of its people.

- Written by Shawna Stone