Not long after The Great War had ended, after a period of planning and fund raising, construction was begun on Clinton's Memorial Hall, which achieved completion in 1920. The hall was a genuine community project, volunteers donating their labour to the project, while individuals and businesses donated both money and materials. Various fundraising methods were put in place, including fundraising events, raffles and canvassing.
Still Clinton's major community events centre, Clinton Memorial Hall immediately inherited stewardship of
Canada's Longest Running Annual Event, the
Clinton Annual Ball, becoming the venue for the 1920 edition of the Ball. The inaugural
Clinton Annual Ball was held in the Clinton Hotel (now gone) in 1868. Surviving two World Wars, the depression and global pandemics (including the present one), while staged as a much reduced affair in 2020 and 2021, the 155th Annual Ball will be staged in 2023.
Clinton Annual Ball
On New Years Day 1868, Mrs. Smith of the Clinton Hotel arranged to host the first Clinton Ball in their lobby. As she planned the event to bring some warmth and entertainment to the cold, long winters of the Cariboo, she would not dream that over 150 years later, the Clinton Ball would still be going strong.
Some of the earlier Balls lasted for up to a week with dancing every night. Attendance was by invitation only, and local ladies spent months planning, ordering gowns from Victoria, San Francisco, and even Europe. Some ladies brought whole wardrobes, and changed several times during the evening. Where else in the Cariboo could they display their finery?
The venue for the second Ball, in 1869, changed to Mr. Bell’s new warehouse, adjacent to the Hotel to accommodate more people. Later balls were held in the new (as of 1892) courthouse. In 1920, the Clinton Memorial Hall would become the annual venue of the important event, and attendance became open, rather than invite only. However, for the monumental 150th Clinton Annual Ball in 2017, the larger venue of the 47 Mile Arena was used in order to host even more guests for the celebration of this important milestone.
The Ball has survived two world wars, the depression, global pandemics, and major demographic changes. Over time, the Ball has been shortened, to two days, and more recently, to one glorious night. But the spirit survives: guests dress up in their finest attire and dance the night away.
From the Clinton Walking Tour, Page 11
CLINTON MEMORIAL HALL
The Clinton Memorial Hall was built in 1920 as a tribute to Clinton area residents who did not return from the first World War. Local volunteers, including war veterans, worked hard to build the much needed venue from collecting the wood from trees in the forest to special milling the lumber at the local mill (the owner of which, Mr. Botterill, also helped out at no cost) to erect the building. Generous monetary donations from those unable to donate their labor were used to pay for the windows, doors, hardware and wages for the supervising carpenter. A plaque resides within the Hall to those 20 young veterans lost in the First World War.
This larger venue would be able to host the Clinton Annual Ball along with other important community events. The Hall boasts a maple hardwood spring floor, one of the few in the country, and said to be one of the best dance floors in the country. It is said that the floor rises up to meet the happy feet of dancing couples.
From the Clinton Walking Tour, Page 10