‘A great cheer went up from the crowds in front of the city hall as the declaration was made by the mayor, and the city band played the air, Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot’, said the Sentinel-Review. It went on, ‘For the rest of the week much of the business of the young city was suspended. Factories closed down. Each afternoon the women's groups of the various churches gave a free picnic in Victoria Park. Each night there was a band concert from the bandstand in the park. Factories gave reunion parties for old employees., etc. ...... All week the 60 piece band of the Scottish Highlander Regiment of Hamilton had been giving concerts. On the final Sunday the band joined the Woodstock band on Vansittart Avenue where the two large cemeteries met, with bared heads, moved by the significance and emotion of the occasion.’
[References:] Doug Symons's ‘The Village that Straddled a Swamp,’ page 137 Centennial Edition of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review dated June 27, 1967 (page 8).
"Extra Information From Quiz Committee:
A municipality that reached a population of 15,000 automatically got the prestige of ‘City’ status. An ambitious town, however, might petition the
Province for City status as soon as it reached a 9000 population. Although the 1901 Census would eventually show Woodstock was a bit short, with
only 8833 persons, the Council agreed in January, 1901, to petition the Ontario Parliament for a special Bill to incorporate the Town Of Woodstock as the
City Of Woodstock. The Town did become a City on July 1, but population growth slowed and only passed 15,000 in 1951.
Sources:
- Woodstock Museum, history archives
- Bloomfield and McGaskell, ‘Urban Growth and Local Services, The Development of Ontario Municipalities to 1981’