SIDNEY — Raffle tickets are available for a chance to win Bicentennial rifles which will help with the expenses of Sidney’s Bicentennial celebration.
“Raffle tickets for the Serial No. 1 Henry Golden Boy and the Serial No. 1 Henry Standard are now on sale,” Shelby County Commissioner/Sidney Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Bob Guillozet said. “The tickets are available at several locations within the county. Each ticket is $50, with only 250 tickets to be sold.
“The first prize in the raffle will be the Serial No. 1 Henry Golden Boy,” Guillozet continued. “The second ticket drawn will be for the Serial No. 1 Henry Standard. Those purchasing tickets will have a 1 in 125 chance of winning one of the guns. The drawing of the winning tickets will take place just prior to the Winter Wonderland Parade in downtown Sidney on Dec. 5.”
“When the sale of the Sidney Bicentennial Henry rifles was first announced, they flew off the shelves even faster than those produced for Shelby County’s Bicentennial,” said Sidney Mayor and Shelby County Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Mike Barhorst. “I think when those who purchased the rifles saw the quality of the workmanship, it only increased the desire for the limited edition rifle produced for Sidney’s Bicentennial.”
“Both the Serial No. 1 guns were donated by Rocky Mountain Firearms to the Sidney Bicentennial Committee,” Guillozet said. “It was Brian’s intent (Brian Nesby of Rocky Mountain Firearms) that the guns be raffled, with the proceeds benefiting the Sidney Bicentennial Committee.”
The Henry Golden Boy is a .22 caliber rifle. It has a brass finished receiver and octagon barrel. It is valued at $895.
The Henry Standard is also .22 caliber rifle. It comes with a blued receiver and round barrel. It is valued at $699.
“We like to give back,” Rocky Mountain Firearms owner Brian Nesby said. “We want to leave money in Sidney and Shelby County. That’s why we have donated the two guns to be raffled off, with the money benefiting the Bicentennial Committee, just as we did with Shelby County’s Bicentennial last year.”
The commemorative Henry rifles were especially designed for Sidney’s Bicentennial. The right side of the butt stock includes an engraved image of Sir Philip Sidney and a map of the original 14 ½ blocks that comprised Sidney’s original plat. The left side includes Sidney’s Bicentennial logo and an image of the Monumental Building.
The right side of the pistol grip includes an image of The Big-Four Bridge, an image that since its construction in 1923, has served to symbolize Sidney’s role as the gateway to the Miami Valley. The left side of the pistol grip includes an image of Ross Covered Bridge in Tawawa Park.
The right side of the forearm stock includes an image of the logo of the “All-America City” program. Often called the Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship, Sidney was named an All-America City in 1964. In addition, there is an image of The Spot restaurant, the local diner that has served generations of Sidney residents and visitors (and at least one United States president) for more than a century.
The left side forearm stock includes an image of the People’s Federal Savings & Loan building. Designed by architect Louis Sullivan, the building attracts scores of architects and architectural students to Sidney every year. In addition, there is an image of a wagon filled with barrels of beer brewed by the John Wagner Brewing Company. The local brewery produced beer from 1850 through prohibition, and briefly after that “grand experiment” ended in 1933.
Raffle tickets are available at Meyer’s Garage (6377 State Route 66, Newport), Tactical Solutions (5899 State Route 29, Pasco), Sidney Ace Hardware (320 N. Main Ave., Sidney), and Lochard’s Do-It Best Hardware (803 Wapakoneta Ave., Sidney. Tickets can also be purchased from Sidney City Clerk Kari Egbert and either Guillozet or Barhorst.
