A piece of Ripon history will be celebrated on Wednesday.

The Ripon Historical Society and the Ripon Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a dedication ceremony of the replica cauldron that was part of the 1960 Winter Olympic Game’s relay torch run through Central Valley.

All are invited to the 9 a.m. coffee event on Wednesday, Oct. 11,  in front of the Clarence Smit Museum, 430 W. Main St.

That’s original location of the torch holder consisting of the five rings of the Olympic insignia on tripod – as constructed by Al Kamps and John Boesch. The City of Ripon Public Works Department moved it about a month ago from Thiemann Athletic Park on Fourth Street, restoring and adding the new dedication plaque made possible by longtime resident Michael White.

He was among the 1,000 or so who gathered in heavy rains that February 1960 to witness the lighting of the flame using the replica torch holder during the relay run to Squaw Valley.

White, a 1962 graduate of Ripon High, recently donated the plaque, reading: “In 1960, Ripon was used as a waypoint for the Olympic Torch in its journey to Squaw Valley for the Winter Olympic Games – This is a replica of the torch holder in Squaw Valley.”

His donation coupled with the city’s renovation effort was about 18 months in the making.

White and others were pleased to see a piece of Ripon’s Olympic history getting its proper recognition.