“You can growl at people all day long as long as you don’t cuss at them.
A village about 88 km west of Edmonton in west-central Alberta has a unique community tradition.
Every summer, the small town of Evansburg picks a resident grouch to bother, complain, and grumble at other people.
Last Thursday was the last day to put your name forward for this year’s grouch. When no one did, the village put out a call.
In 2012, Margaret Hodgkinson took on the role of the grouch.
She told CBC’s Edmonton AM, “You can go around and growl at people as long as you don’t swear at anyone.”
She said that the job was an honor and a privilege because it made her a representative of the community. As part of her job, she went to trade shows and other events all over the country to represent Evansburg.
Evansburg has had trouble finding a grouch before, so this isn’t the first time. In the year Hodgkinson ran, there were only two candidates.
She said, “I think people secretly want to be talked to, but no one wants to say, ‘I’m cranky.'”
Population plus one grouc
The tradition of choosing a grouch began in 1974, when local artist John Lauer was asked to paint a welcome sign for the village.
Lauer didn’t know what to do with the empty space on the sign, so he thought about writing the number of people in the village below. He counted the people (603), the dogs (29), and the cats (about 40) after walking up and down the streets.
Still, Lauer thought there was something missing. He added “plus one Grouch” to the sign on a whim.
There was a lot of talk about who the grouch was, so the community decided to hold an election to find out.
The manager of the Tipple Park Museum, Melissa Killick, said, “It’s been a tradition since the 1970s to just celebrate our community and the people in it in August.”
In the 1990s, a new slogan was made: “Home of the Grouch.”
“I hope that if someone came to our village and met a local who wasn’t very friendly, they would be able to forgive them more easily… The Evansburg Entwistle Chamber of Commerce website says, “We are assuming that this person is our one admitted Grouch.”
Since the beginning, the grouch has been named, used, and even given a copyright. The grouch gets a certificate that says he or she is an official grouch and a special address at Number 10, Frowning Street. There is also a grouch bench in downtown Evansburg.
Lauer got the title “grouch” in 1995.
The grouch is a coal miner. He wears bright blue overalls and a helmet with a light on it. His red hair is wild and out of control, and he carries a miner’s pick.
A grouch must live in Evansburg, be chosen, and agree to be chosen.
After the nominees have been chosen, donation cans appear around the community, and people can vote for their favorite grouch by giving money.
Killick said that the grouch is interesting because it shows a sense of community.
She said, “It’s a popular way to bring people together in a good way and just celebrate who we are and where we come from.”
At the Pembina Valley Daze festival on August long weekend, the new grouch will be revealed.