The El Reno area emerged from a bitter cold and a COVID winter to find a spring that brought back some sense of normalcy. Graduations, festivals, proms and events were no longer considered among the untouchables.

The spring gave people time to breathe and for many, a time for reflection.

April

Helping El Reno High School to a seventh-place finish at the recent Class 5A State Academic Bowl earned Ella McReynolds and Madison Craig honors by the Oklahoma Academics Coaches Association.

McReynolds was selected to the All-State team, while Craig was named as honorable mention.

Five El Reno High students were named valedictorian for 2021. All five earned straight A's during their high school years. They also took 13 Pre-AP and AP courses with an AP course in each subject. The top EHS students were Ella McReynolds, Riley Connor, Kenzie Holsted, Madison Nichols and Rosanelly Vite. Avery Blount was 2021 salutatorian.

VFW Post 382 in El Reno hosted its annual Easter egg hunt for special needs children. The event began in 1999.

El Reno Community Theatre put on The Absolutely True Story of Tom Sawyer as Told by Becky Thatcher.

El Reno reported it issued 36 permits for new home construction in March, just about doubling the numbers issued during the same month the past two years combined.

El Reno Public Schools joined other districts across the state in a lawsuit against the Oklahoma State Board of Education over the shifting of funding methods in favor of charter schools.

Lime Scooters came to the downtown area as El Reno joined  Oklahoma City and Tulsa as well as Norman, Stillwater and Guthrie as communities welcoming the novelty scooters.

Steve Maddox was named to head up the newly created El Reno Film Commission. Others named to the commission included city council representative Tracey Rider; Fire Chief Jason Duff; Capt. Sam Webster of the El Reno Police Department; Nathaniel Benge, coordinator of Digital Media and Marketing for Redlands Community College; Matt Goucher of El Reno Public Schools; Gayla Lutts, superintendent of Canadian Valley Technology Center; Clara Bushyhead with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes; Bo Jett representing the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street; and Vicki Proctor with the Historical Museum. 

Cardinal Point Family Justice Center opened inside the Gary E. Miller Children’s Justice Center.

Canadian County would now have Oklahoma’s fourth Family Justice Center supporting victims impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and child abuse.

El Reno became an official Purple Heart City after a ceremony at VFW Post 382 recognized close to two dozen Americans who were awarded the military honor after being wounded while serving this nation.

May

The El Reno Kiwanis Club held its 61st Annual Pancake Breakfast at Wesley United Methodist Church. Kiwanis members Kellen Hanna, Tom Avant, Debbie Kauffman, Gary Baumwart, Karen Nance, Ronnie Funck, Chris Lambakis and John Tipps helped with the event.

Kent Lagaly, former El Reno fire chief and now assistant city manager, was honored by the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association with the J Ray Pence Award. The award is presented to one fire chief a year in Oklahoma and recognizes the commitment made in helping to improve fire safety and prevention in their community.

El Reno celebrated Burger Day as thousands flocked downtown, not to see the cooking of the largest fried onion burger on planet earth, but because they could. Unlike the previous year, when the festival was called off because of COVID,  El Reno found a way to celebrate Burger Day in '21. The event was celebrated without the cooking of the Big One, but still with plenty of fun.    

Larry Quisenberry of El Reno pulled a 46-pound blue catfish from Lake El Reno. The fish measured 47 1/2 inches and Quisenberry said he used shad as the bait.

Redlands Community College celebrated the Class of 2021 with an in-person ceremony at Jenks Simmons Field House. Nearly 180 students took part in the graduation.

The blanket of a Cheyenne chief among those killed at the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre was displayed at the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Headquarters in Concho.

C&A Gov. Reggie Wassana said the viewing of the blanket of Chief White Antelope was a somber occasion.

Brent Learned, an award-winning artist and a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, donated a painting to the El Reno Elks Lodge.

Mayor Matt White made good on a promise to be the first person to go down the new slide at the municipal swimming pool. The water was cold.

JUNE

More jets were expected to land at El Reno Regional Airport and purchasing fuel after the El Reno Airpark Authority signed an agreement with the Corporate Aircraft Association to offer discounted fuel to those with privately owned and operated jets and turboprop aircraft.

The Teaching and Leading Initiative of Oklahoma (TLI) named 20 of the top novice teachers in the state in the Third Annual 20 Under 2 Novice Teaching Awards. The honorees included El Reno Public Schools teacher Ashli Robinson.

El Reno's Exiss/Sooner Trailers was named the number one manufacturer of livestock trailers for 2020. The award was determined based on retail registrations of livestock trailers in 2020, according to Statistical Surveys Inc. Data.

A steady and at times heavy rain moved the traditional Memorial Day ceremony under a pavilion at the El Reno Cemetery.

Stirring comments reflecting on the freedom-saving sacrifices made by members of the U.S. military were given by Retired Naval Commander Ron Edmonson.

Several thousand people turned out for the 23rd Annual A Small Town Weekend.

The crowds enjoyed mild weather and plenty of classic car enthusiasm as the three-day event created by the El Reno Cruisers Car Club paid tribute to Route 66 and life in small-town America.

A group of women descended on The Lord's Harvest to present the nonprofit food-based ministry a gift of $17,000.

The Power of 100 Canadian County presented founder and director Nikki Pruitt with the oversized check. Tressa Smith nominated The Lord's Harvest for the grant.

Frank Austin gave Redlands Community College Foundation a gift of $200,000 in memory of his late wife, June. The gift would eventually include a nearly 2,000-acre farm.