The Centennial Park in the heart of Eganville will be renamed after Eganville Leader Publisher Gerald Tracey on May 25th, which also happens to be his 72nd birthday.

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Eganville – The publisher of the Eganville Leader, well-known for his involvement in many successful community endeavours, will be honoured by his home town this weekend when Centennial Park in the heart of the village is renamed after him.

Gerald Tracey is also celebrating his 72nd birthday on Sunday, May 25th, and the community is invited to join him and his family as the Township of Bonnechere Valley (BV) renames Centennial Park as Gerald Tracey Park. Mayor Jennifer Murphy credits former Pembroke Mayor Terry McCann for bringing forth the idea of recognizing Mr. Tracey for his volunteerism at a BV council meeting last fall.

“When Terry first brought us the idea, we had different sites, possibly a bridge, etc., to consider,” she explained. “And in the end, Terry felt that Centennial Park, knowing the history of it, of course with his family donating the land, and the amount of work Gerald put into it, it seemed like a good place to honour the legacy of he and all of his volunteer cohorts.

“It’s something we’ve never done before, so we wanted to make sure it was the right fit,” she added. “But of course, with Terry McCann coming to us, he’s always so well thought out and the letter he sent us asking for the dedication was absolutely beautiful.”

She said it noted what a pillar of the community Mr. Tracey has been, and renaming the park would be a fitting tribute for his contributions. The official ceremony will start at 1:30 at the Guy Jamieson Bandshell and will include music before hand, a few speeches, the unveiling of the new signage, music, food and cake.

Special entertainment will follow the formal part of the celebration with the well-known the Gail Gavan and Cheryl Fitzpatrick headlining the entertainment. Gillan Rutz of Petawawa, Ish Theilheimer and Robbie and Rory Jamieson will also join in as well as other entertainers.

Mayor Murphy said a new sign is being erected at the Tourist Information Centre and at the two entrances to the park on John Street. The signs will contain a QR code with information on the history of the park.

“I think it’s fun that it will be Gerald’s 72nd birthday,” she said. “It will be a lovely afternoon in the park and hopefully the weather is nice.”

Mayor Murphy stressed while the park is being renamed in his honour, Mr. Tracey is adamant the event is recognizing not him alone but all the volunteers who assisted in the establishment of Centennial Park, and all the other projects he was and is involved with.

“I know that’s very important to him,” she remarked. “I think the event will be exactly what Terry (Mr. McCann) envisioned.”

She admitted being somewhat unsure if Mr. Tracey would accept the offer, noting they had to lie to him to get him to the township council meeting last fall when the announcement was made.“That was the first thing. There was some subterfuge just getting him to the meeting.”

She recalled the original Tuesday meeting had been re-scheduled to Wednesday, which suited Mr. Tracey better because of his publishing deadlines on Tuesdays.

“He was shocked and extremely emotional, which you don’t often see in Mr. Tracey,” she recalled of the meeting. “It was obviously a great honour.

“We also knew that we had to have Terry and Mary (Mrs. McCann) there, otherwise he probably would
have said ‘no.’

“He has made it abundantly clear that this was not Gerald Tracey on his own and it took a lot of stick handling and a lot of volunteers,” she added. “It was a really big deal.”

She agreed while the park will bear his name, Mr. Tracey also is recognized for having his fingerprint on several other community projects including Fairfields assisted living complex, the children’s splash pad and the rebuilding of church towers at St. James Roman Catholic and Grace Lutheran churches following
the destructive fires in 1993 and 1997, respectively, and the Save the Legion campaign during COVID.

“I think that’s why Terry thought this was the perfect time, because he has done so much, and he wanted to make sure it was done before Gerald retires.”

Mr. Tracey chaired the Eganville Centennial Committee which was formed in 1988 to undertake three main projects for the 1991 celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Eganville.

Centennial Park was the major project undertaken by the committee and over the next three years hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised to build the park along the south shore of the Bonnechere River on 13 acres of land donated by the McCann family. M.J. McCann, Terry McCann’s great-grandfather, was the first reeve of the newly-established Village of Eganville in 1891.

The park is accessed by a walking bridge 30 feet above the river from the Tourist Information Centre, and two access points on John Street on the south side of the river. The park features the Guy Jamieson Bandshell, a children’s playground, an outdoor rink, a large gazebo and walkways along the river.