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Zenda
Zenda goes Hollywood! Where is Zenda you ask? It is located midway between Norwich and Tillsonburg, ON, Quaker Street and Evergreen Street along Zenda Line. This was once the most famous spot in Oxford County! The community was named in 1895 after Anthony Hope's popular novel, The Prisoner of Zenda. 'Zenda' was virtually a household word at the time, so when it was suggested, there was universal agreement. Famous for its Zenda Garden Parties, between 1905 & 1950's, held on the first Wednesday of August. They attracted thousands of spectators. The garden party was like a festival, complete with vaudeville acts. Visitor's paid their fifty cents ate their picnic and watched a baseball game before settling down for the vaudeville. As if this wasn't fame enough, the entire adult population of Zenda (eleven people) were flown to New York City in 1937 by Hollywood producer, David O. Selznick, to publicize the release of the motion picture, Prisoner of Zenda. On September 1st, they drove to the airfield in Jarvis and boarded a chartered TWA skyliner. They were met in New York by a police escort and greeted by Mayor Fiorella La Guardia, along with studio executives. They brought with them greetings from Oxford, parcels of Zenda cheese and bottles of locally produced maple syrup. In return, each one received a 'key' to the city. They stayed at the St. Moritz Hotel. After attending the premiere of the film at the Radio City Music Hall and two days of entertainment and sightseeing in New York, the celebrities returned home with memories to last a lifetime.
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