Manor braced itself recently in preparation for a planned invasion by The Americans.
As the countdown to the invasion ticked away, people from the community and beyond gathered at the Manor Rink to greet this friendly invasion, on Sunday, Oct. 10.
The invasion was carried out by the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans team, a team whose captain, Kruise Reddick, hails originally from the village.
The visit, put together by the Reddick family, with the support of Moose Mountain Mud, Equal Trucking, and Pure Chem, was held as a fundraiser for the Manor Rink.
As the large tour bus carrying the team pulled into town, a throng of young people holding placards began to jump up and down, welcoming the hockey players into the community.
The event saw the entire team come to the rink, and included some members of The Americans management as well.
Once they had left the bus and made their way into the hall, several short addresses were made to the people who came out to attend.
Speaking first, hometown lad Reddick thanked the people who came out to support the team and the rink.
"Thanks so much for coming out," Reddick said. "It means a lot to show the team and the new guys the town where I came from."
"I really appreciate your support for me, the team, and the new rink here," Reddick said. "I want everyone to know what a great community we have here in Manor."
Also speaking to the assembly, team manager Bob Tory addressed the crowd.
"I was the one who discovered Kruise, and he has proved to be everything I thought he could be," Tory said. "You should all be very proud of Kruise, because we don't select a team captain lightly."
"It really takes a special sort of player to get the 'C' on their jersey."
Speaking back to the players and team officials, community member George Rowley took a moment to express his sentiments.
"This community should be very, very proud," Rowley said. "It takes a lot of hard work and determination to get to where all of these players are today. We are very happy to have them visit us."
Following the addresses, the players took seats at a long row of tables, and took time to visit with and sign autographs for the fans.
"This isn't something we do a lot of, but we have a bit of a tradition of trying to visit the captain's home community," said Americans coach Jim Hiller. "In the two years I have been with the team, we have done it just one other time."
"We like to do visits like this, but it has to work out in terms of our travel schedule," said Tory of the visit. "This year it worked out perfectly, so we are quite happy that we are able to take the time to put this visit in."
Kruise's father, Doug Reddick, was also on hand at the event.
"We wanted to use the opportunity to raise some money for the rink with their visit." Doug said. "We have having the entire team over for a Thanksgiving dinner afterwards, so this is a nice chance to have them visit with the community."
"I'm very grateful to the sponsors today for their support," Doug said. "They are providing all of the food, the grill, and everything else."
For $5.00, visitors could buy a sausage on a bun, as well as enter a draw for a new hockey video game.
Also, everyone who purchased a lunch was entered into a draw for a grand prize, which included an all-expenses paid trip for two to a Calgary Flames game in Calgary.
The winner of the grand prize draw was Val Cuddington.
