It is a time-honored tradition during the opening of the annual Old Mining Town Days (OMTD) event, held Friday and concluding today: the naming of the honored citizen.
Making the announcement on Friday was Granby Mayor Paul Ferguson.
“It gives me great pleasure to give this proclamation to this gentleman. Will Vern Prather please come up here?” Ferguson asked. “As a young boy, Vern gave a lot of his time to the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts — along with my mother — and I remember getting a lot of awards with Vern standing there, so it only feels fitting that I give this to him tonight.”
Prather approached the microphone and was given the proclamation, which Ferguson read.
“Whereas Vern Prather has been an outstanding citizen of Granby since 1959 and whereas Vern has been a dedicated supporter of the Granby United Methodist Church for 50 years and whereas Vern has been an honest businessman, having owned an auto supply store, the Ritchey Ranch and building the first self storage building in Granby and whereas Vern always has been willing to help anyone who needed assistance…”
Other points in the proclamation included Prather being active in fishing clubs, receiving the Ollie Smith Sportsmanship Award in 1985 and he can be found daily visiting with his friends, taking evening walks and enjoying the city.
Saturday was proclaimed as “Vern Prather Day” in Granby.
“I really appreciate this award, it means a lot to me and it always has,” Prather said. “Granby has always meant a lot to me. I was living in larger cities, born in a small city, traveled for BorgWarner (Auto Parts) a number of years and saw lots of big cities and I decided BorgWarner I found my niche in automotive parts. So I was looking for a small town in this area and I found Granby, here I am and thank the Lord that I am here.”
Shortly after Prather received the award, he noted, “Granby is a good place to live.”
But the fun did not stop at the honored citizen recognition. Other activities for Friday included a carnival, where youngsters and their parents enjoyed various rides including the “Tornado” and played carnival-style games for prizes. There was also the Wolf Branch Antique Tractor Club showing off their tractors, Boy Scouts having a dunk tank with proceeds going back to the organization, and music from Duke Mason and the Granny Chicks.
