![]() A.Dawes President 1894-1896 |
The
history of the Lachine Curling Club began
when Canada was celebrating its first
quarter century. Socially and economically
those first twenty-five years of Confederation
were filled with uncertainty and turmoil:
Irish-American radicals were attacking
rural Canadian villages; racial and religious
intolerance worsened with the execution
of Louis Riel; and Canadians suffered
from the 19th century's worst economic
depression. By the 1890s our young nation
was starting to show signs of economic
improvement. Industrial development along
the Lachine Canal brought a degree of
prosperity to the Montreal Region. A new
railway bridge at Lachine was a key part
of the new transcontinental railway from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. New settlers
significantly increased the population
of the six provinces of Canada and these
new Canadians provided the work force
that permitted agriculture, mining and
lumbering to become exciting focal points
in the economic development of Canada. |
The enterprising men who were establishing the industries and companies that would bring Canada into the 20th century needed ways to relax and many of them enjoyed skating with their families during the long Canadian winters. At Lachine, a popular spot for this winter recreation was the ice on a creek that flowed through the present site of the Lachine General Hospital. When community leaders recommended that a skating rink be constructed, Albert Dawes, owner of Dawes Brewery, offered them a piece of land east of 32nd Avenue so that the Lachine Skating Club could be founded in 1887. By 1891, a club house was built where skaters could warm their toes and a year later, evening skating became more popular when coal oil lamps were replaced with ten incandescent electric lights. The Club's afternoon teas became so popular that they were advertised at the Grand Trunk Railway station at the Lachine Wharf.
In 1892, some of the Club members, led by a Mr. Philips, recommended the addition of the Scottish sport of curling to the winter program and a resolution was passed "that a portion of the ice be added to the resources of the rink and kept in order for curling". Mr. Philips must have been an ardent curler because at the meeting of November 8th, 1893 he moved that the Lachine Skating Club buy eight pairs of curling stones. Eight days later he moved that "electric light fixtures be erected at once including posts for the lights over the curling space".
As the Lachine Skating Club was becoming a nucleus of curling on the West Island, the L.S.C. applied and was accepted into the Canadian Branch of the Royal Caledonia Curling Club. With this acceptance, the club changed its name to the Lachine Skating & Curling Club.
In August 1894, the executive of the Lachine Skating & Curling Club learned that the land where our club house now stands was for sale. Funds to buy the property were raised by the sale of $10 shares to residents and on December 29th, 1894, Dame Mary E. Bagg, wife of Samuel Shackell, sold our present site to the LS & CC. To guarantee access, a passage 20 feet wide from Union Avenue (present-day 42nd Ave.) was written into the deed for sale. In those days the entrance to the club house was adjacent to the backyards of houses facing present-day Broadway. At the Annual Meeting, at Harvey's Hotel on November 7th, 1894, it was moved and passed "that the assets of the Lachine Skating Club be transferred to the Lachine Skating & Curling Club, provided they assume the amount to be collected by Mr. A. Dawes on account of his taxes being raised" - a small price to pay for the birth of curling on the West Island.
The cost of founding the Club was approximately $3,000 - $ 1,746 for the property and $1,300 for the construction of the ice-shed and club house with "modem appliances for heating and lighting" plus $35 for moving the skaters' changing house from the creek to the new location. Thanks to the enthusiasm of people like Philips and Dawes, the Lachine Curling Club was the first curling club on the Lakeshore, the sixth on the island of Montreal and the thirteenth in the Province of Quebec. In 1894, the first inter-club game was against Thistle with the irons provided by the visiting team. After sixteen ends. The Thistle curlers won by four rocks and were congratulated by the L.C.C.'s 64 members, 37 of whom were active members.
A.J. Dawes had a two-year term as president (1894-1896) followed by R. Bickerdike, M.P., whose "estate" can still be seen on 47th Avenue. During the Bickerdike presidency, the Olympic Games were revived, but nearly a century later (1994), our favourite highland sport was still not an official Olympic competition (at last it is now).
In 1897, some members wanted to expand membership to Lachine residents living east of the Roman Catholic Church at 15th Avenue, but the narrow minded, snobbish opinions of some of the influential members of the Lachine Skating & Curling Club prevented those citizens from even having a visitor's ticket to skate. At that time, criteria for membership was both established and enforced by a General Committee whose cultural and linguistic bias has a profound effect on the make-up of the club. Unhappily, many of Lachine's Francophone community continue to hold the mistaken belief that our club is a recreational centre for affluent, Protestant, Anglo-Saxons: a club dominated by English-speaking company owners, bankers, doctors and lawyers. In 1910, following the"blackballing" of an applicant for membership, "grass roots democracy" forced the revision of the Bylaw concerning the matter. The name of this popular individual, at the centre of the furor, was not identified in the Club's records.
The Ladies Curling Club of Lachine, with a membership fee of $ 1.00, was established at the time of the Yukon Gold Rush of 1898. Females could curl when the men were at work and male members had priority when inclement weather forced the rescheduling of games. Ninety-four years later, equality was officially recorded in the new L.C.C. Constitution.
The L.C.C. Junior Curling program began in 1899, with a select group of boys who could curl for two hours every evening at 6 p.m., and every Tuesday for the entire evening on one of the two sheets.
Some miscellaneous items from the Club's minutes of the 1890s were: members could rent a locker for an annual fee of 25 cents (the price of a gallon of milk or a pound of coffee); locker fees usually paid one-third of the salary of the iceman during the three month curling season; and dedication to Club business was shown by holding the 1897 General Meeting at eight o'clock on New Year's Eve. The identity of the third president is a minor mystery because, although the Club's pictorial history of past presidents includes the photograph of Wm. Wards, president from 1898 to 1899, the archives show the president to have been W. Walker and the roster notes the presidential contributions of N. Walker. During his (or their) presidency, the archivist's attention must have been diverted to other unspecified events.
Our late nineteenth century male curlers were energetic, enthusiastic athletes who, during 14, 18 and 21-end games, became adept at delivering irons through, in and around puddles of water. But many a talented curler had his ego bruised when he failed to get a single iron into the house. At the time when artificial ice was only a dream, Lachine curlers prayed for continuous cold weather during the twelve weeks from the end of December to early March and mild spells gave Match Committees migraines. To try to maintain the ice in warm weather, windows near the ceiling of the shed were opened to let warm air to escape while cooler air entered through windows near the floor. In 1899, at a time when 7,000 young Canadians were volunteering for service in the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902), Presidents Walker, Morris and Edward were attempting to organize fund-raising activities for the excavation of a new stone-filled ice bed which would retain coolness during mild periods.
New inventions at the turn of the century made it an exciting time for curlers. In 1901, Marconi sent his first wireless message across the Atlantic, obviously to Scottish curlers; Thomas Edison invented the electric storage battery, presumably to warm up curling brooms; electric street cars carried curlers and their curling rocks to inter-club matches; and male curlers were experimenting with a new Gillette safety razor which radically changed the photographic profiles of subsequent Club presidents. During the 1901 curling season, female curlers could read two newly published novels to their children: "Peter Rabbit" and "The Wizard of Oz". Between ends, male curlers were probably discussing the adventure stories of Rudyard Kipling and H. Rider Haggard.
On January 15, 1903, President Lucas and fellow members organized a "Banner Night at Lachine" for two Scottish rinks that were part of the first Scottish Curling Team to visit Canada. What impressed the Scots about North America was not the news that Henry Ford was building the first assembly line to mass-produce the Model T automobile, or that the Wright brothers were taking to the air, but the new toilet room facilities at the Lachine Skating & Curling Club whose toilets flushed directly into a town drain (until the Great Block-up of New Year's Eve, 1993). A year and a half later, the Scots would have come to a different Canada, because during G.W. Henry's term of office in 1905, Saskatchewan and Alberta became provinces of Canada. It would be many years before western curlers outnumbered the buffalo.
In the summer of 1906, better illumination for night curling was provided by installing "six incandescent lights" in the ice shed at a cost of $17.75 each. For the romantically inclined, there was a policy of no artificial lighting on the outdoor skating rink on moonlit nights. That year, skips were elected by the membership, but in subsequent years, this democratic process suffered some setbacks. In 1907, coinciding with the creation of the Boy Scout Organization by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the president, W.O. Ryde, stressed good sportsmanship which was probably the reason the bachelors challenged the married male curlers at the start of the 1908-1909 season.
Between 1908 and 1910, when G.S. Oliver was officiating over L.C.C. executive meetings, the number of active members had increased by thirteen. Because there was no curling on Sunday and bonspiels were often interrupted by warm spells, any further increase would have created problems for the Match Convenor and it was recommended that a limit should be set on the number of active members. In those same years, Lachine curlers were listening to "canned" music on a new invention - the gramophone; intelligent skips were debating the relevance of Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity to the sport of curling; suffragettes were demanding both equal ice time and the equality of the sexes within athletic establishments; the Girl Guides were formed; and the world was saddened by the death of the heroine, Florence Nightingale.
During the 1911-1912 curling season, the "Scotch Curlers" returned and, after being entertained at the Forest and Stream Club in Dorval, were driven along the shore of Lac St. Louis in two large sleighs for competition at the Club. They were then wined and dined at the Lakeview Hotel.
During the presidency of both L.A. Amos (1910-1912) and C. de W. Reid (1912-1914), a new form of entertainment, the Hollywood movie, became popular and might have been the reason for the Match Committee's problems with irregular participation and finding reliable spares. In 1913, the Club's executive started discussing the feasibility of constructing a new club-house with three rinks and they were still debating this topic a decade later.
The "Great War" of 1914-1918 saw Club members signing up to fight for their country and a monument on St. Joseph's Boulevard, between 52nd and 53rd Avenues, lists the residents of Lachine who served. Miscellaneous wartime items from the Club's minutes include: in 1914 the salary of the ice maker/caretaker, Mr. Dufort, was $ 15 a month; the annual fee for lockers had risen from 25 cents a few years earlier to one dollar; during W.S. Johnson's term of office (1914-1916), inflation caused curling fees to be increased to $12 in 1915, and $15 the following season; and the agenda at executive meetings included the topic of the collection of funds for cigarettes for the "Boys at the Front". An analysis of the Club's archives shows that H. Ralph, President during 1916-1917, was actually H. Rolph, who may have anglicized his surname at a time when anti-German sentiment changed the name of the city of Berlin, Ontario, to Kitchener.
As the "war to end all wars" approached its dreadful conclusion, Presidents A. McLean (1917-1918) and A.P. Bastable (1918-1919) encouraged Lachine curlers to think about the promise of peace and prosperity, but for some young Canadian curlers, returning from the conflict, the reward for bravery was unemployment. At a time when curlers were celebrating the end of a dreadful war, the following resolution was passed by the Club on December 28, 1918: "In view of the new restrictions of the City in the Liquor Traffic, it was decided that only soft drinks be served by the Club on New Year's Eve". Prohibition had diluted an honoured curling tradition - a "wee nip", but Lachine curlers had much to celebrate about during the Lachine Skating & Curling Club's 25th Anniversary. It was a moment when members could reminisce about the "Good ol' Days" while focusing on the contribution to the sport of curling by the Club's major benefactor - Albert Dawes.
by
DAVID McDOUGALL, DOUG POTVIN, CAMPBELL TAYLOR
1920-1944 - The Raguin Era
![]() R.E. RAGUIN President 1929-1931 |
This
period was one of change and growth in
the life of the Lachine Curling Club.
We were fortunate in having men and women
with a love of the game and a determination
to carry on under trying times. We can
be thankful that men such as Woodward,
Dawes, Raguin, Evans, McLean, Packard,
and a host of others kept the Club going
through the early times and especially
through the Great Depression.
The Club originally had two sheets of ice in a low shed of wood construction located on the site of the present-day parking lot and the club room was very small. Plans were started in the 1920s to enlarge the facility. These plans were speeded up when a fire destroyed the building in 1929. |
The old Lachine Skating and Curling Club was disbanded and the stock was returned to the treasury. A new charter was obtained for the "Lachine Curling Club". Bonds were issued and a mortgage raised to provide funds for a new 3-sheet ice shed and a club house. Under the direction of President Rene Raguin and engineer W.B. McLean, the building was erected in record time at a cost of $15,000, and was opened on December 26, 1930. The new club house allowed the membership to hold meetings and social events at the club rather than at local hotels, taverns and restaurants. The extra sheet of ice provided more curling, the club became a social centre, and the membership grew.
The natural ice limited the length of the curling season. The earliest date on record for the start of curling was December 2, 1933. The usual starting date was just before Christmas. The weather in March sometimes caused problems and ice in April was rare. When the Brookline Curling Club in Massachusetts became the first curling facility to produce artificial ice in 1920, the Lachine Curling Club, as well as other clubs, started to study the feasibility of investing in modern refrigeration equipment.
In 1925, when a spring thaw threatened to cancel the Edinburgh trophy match, Mr. T. Howard Stewart, the donor of the trophy, rented the Montreal Forum to hold the competition. This was the first time an arena was used and this paved the way to make curling a spectator sport. The second use of an arena was in 1936 when Manitoba used the amphitheatre, an "athletic abattoir", to hold provincial play downs.
In Quebec, cast iron stones were used and most curlers had their own. The winner of the Green Singles competition was given two irons as a prize.
Natural ice made the throwing of the 60-pound irons difficult on the softer spring ice. Granites were easier to use and Mr. T. Howard Stewart offered to donate 100 pairs of granites to the Granite Association for distribution to any club wanting them. It was then normal to use granites for spring matches.
This eased the transition to granites in Quebec, but this took a long time. Attempts to have matches between Ontario and Quebec were difficult to arrange. They usually had two rinks a side. One game with irons, the other granites.
In the early days neither irons nor granites were standardized as to size, weight or running surface. So for important matches each curler took his own rocks. Sometimes the game would be delayed to allow the rocks to cool off to the ice temperature. This allowed curlers to belly up to the bar and talk about previous games. A letter in the file from the Valleyfield Club asked if the Lachine rink was coming by train and if they were bringing their own stones. If so, they would have a horse and sleigh at the station to take them to the rink.
Many matches were 16 ends. These were gradually reduced to 14 and then 12 for finals and 10 for club games. In the longer games it was usual to stack brooms half way through for a toddy.
Another change was in the delivery of the stone. The irons were delivered from the hack. With granites, a sliding delivery became the norm and play became more of a take out rather than a draw game.
For entertainment in the Club-house, there would be dances and dinners, but the most popular diversion seems to have been "Smokers" when male members would light up their cigars, pipes and cigarettes. This use of tobacco made it natural to ask a tobacco company to sponsor the national championship. The MacDonald Tobacco Company thus became the "angel" and the name "Brier Tankard" was given to the competition. As a brier is a woody shrub, the root of which is used to make pipes, "Brier" was the name given to MacDonald's Plug tobacco. Each plug had a small metal heart with tangs that were pressed into the plug: "The heart of the tobacco". The heart symbol became the symbol of excellence in curling and the brier crests were heart shaped. MacDonald also made chewing tobacco in plugs. Fortunately curlers did not emulate the practice of baseball players. As well as the Brier, MacDonald sponsored the "Lassie" Competition for the ladies and they used the same heart symbol. However, there is no evidence to indicate that the ladies were addicted to the plug tobacco.
While many changes came about at the Lachine Curling Club, many things stayed the same. The problems the Match Committee had in selecting rinks to represent the Club in major Branch competitions and in selecting Club skips were the same yesterday as today. Seniority used to be the most important factor whereas today ability and compatibility are given more consideration. One motion in the old minutes stated that the same three reprobates be re-elected as the Match Committee for another term - "a term of endearment".
The old correspondence showed a politeness and formality that is missing today. The old postcards, with the King George V one cent stamp, were used often for notices of meetings, (a penny post indeed!).
The members, in addition to their curling activities, participated in many civic and social events in the City of Lachine. President Frank Packard was one example. He had a London Bobby's uniform and on Hallowe'en he used to dress up and escort the children on their trick or treat forays. At Christmas, the choristers would end up at the Packard house for hot chocolate drinks after singing Christmas carols around town. Possibly the police uniform stimulated his imagination since Mr. Packard was the well known author of the Jimmy Dale Mystery stories.
The 1924 minutes had the following messages: "The club was officially opened on Nov. 30 with an oyster and liquid supper; the oysters being devoured first but the liquid holding out until the early hours of the morning. In fact, there were rumours that the celebration continued until the following afternoon." The New Year's reception was celebrated in the usual manner. President Packard, like "Solomon in all his glory", received the ladies and visitors, mixed rinks were picked, and the battle continued until midnight. I wonder if President Packard was wearing his London Bobby uniform.
It is an interesting exercise to look back at our history. We are fortunate in having the same spirit and companionship at our club today that the old boys and girls enjoyed.
The personnel changes, but the spirit remains. Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil !
by
Harold Tincombe
1945-1969 - The Woodward Era
![]() R.E. WOODWARD President 1941-1946/1949-1950 |
1944
-1969 was a very eventful quarter century
for Lachine Curling Club. Starting with
the Woodward era we had 25 different people,
including the Taylor boys, preside over
the club. This period ended with Reg.
J. Tyier as president during the 1969-70
season, the club's 75th Anniversary. Many
changes occurred during this time, changes
to the game as well as to the club house.
The first major change came in 1948 when L.C .C. switched to artificial ice. Until then, the natural ice surface made it quite difficult to get a granite, and absolutely impossible to get an iron, into the house during a warm spell. In 1947 the old Bonsecour Market was to be torn down and its refrigeration equipment sold. The club directors evaluated the machinery and wisely decided to purchase the two large components that made up the compressor. A shed was built to house these units, the same shed we use for today's refrigeration equipment. The steel pipes used for making the ice were embedded in cement. This made for a great dance floor and storage space, which was needed in the Lachine area at the time. |
With artificial ice came the demand for good playing conditions. This caused quite a stir in 1954 when the Branch requested ice time from L.C.C. for Royal Victoria Jubilee games. When the ice was inspected at noon on the day of play, the ice surface was found to be unsuitable for curling. The president then ordered the ice to be scraped causing the ladies afternoon curling to be cancelled. To express their disapproval of their loss of curling time, they proceeded to scatter toilet paper and other items throughout the club-house.
Perfect ice conditions were no easier to achieve then as they are today. They blamed the ice keeper, they changed the ammonia system to brine, but still the runs came back. After a great deal of research by Lorne Rowell (the ice chairman of the day), it was determined that the deterioration of the ice was caused by the proximity of the lake. He found that the surface of the water table was not far below the surface of the ice, with some levels being higher than others. As the season progressed the water table froze causing the surface above to heave. This created the same tricky ice conditions we have today. In 1973 new plastic pipes were installed on top of styrofoam insulation. This corrected a lot of the heaving.
With better ice came better stones. During the 1955-56 season the club purchased six sets of Ailsa Craig blue curling stones straight from this island off the coast of Scotland. The stones cost $120.00 per pair. The same stones would cost $ 1,500.00 today (1994).
The coming of granite signalled the end of the "Iron Age". In the late 50s forty-eight pairs of irons lay around the boardwalks, rusting away from lack of use. Ted Hunt decided to dispose of these relics and called in a scrap dealer to pick them up. A few weeks later several members noticed that their prized possessions had disappeared. You see, in the days of iron play, you were presented with a pair of irons if you won the club singles competition. The irons were inscribed with the winner's name and year won, and painted in the club colours. After these members discovered that their trophies had already been put through a blast furnace, Ted Hunt was not a very popular man.
Needless to say, with the installation of artificial ice and the arrival of new stones, membership began to grow. In April of 1957 a resolution was passed allowing the Board of Directors to borrow a sum up to $45,000.00 This money was to be used to meet the cost of a proposed expansion of the club house. Through a combination of a bank loan, a loan of $30,000.00 from Dick Woodward and assessments, a project that gives us the comfortable club house we have today, was undertaken.
Before the expansion there was a small kitchen at the top of the stairs and a small bar on the east wall. An interesting fact decided the present location of the bar. In those days the ladies could only watch the curling from the upstairs' window overlooking sheet three. If they wanted to buy a drink at the bar, they had to walk through the men's lounge. This would create quite a panic between the male and female members. Therefore, the bar was moved from the east wall to where it is now. This allowed the ladies easier access to the bar without interrupting the male members at the cribbage tables and/or their T.V. viewing. How times have changed!
The expansion gave us the bar room, the alcove and a new kitchen. Downstairs the enlargement provided locker rooms for men and women, office space and a furnace room. The only major change to the curling shed was the removal of the windows that lined the top of the east and west walls. To comply with existing fire laws, a new fire escape was installed that led to the ice shed.
After all the dust settled, the next job was to repay all the money borrowed. Everything went towards the debt: bar sales, dances, dinners with guest speakers and even Buick cars were raffled off. When all was said and done, H. Smith. G. Cape, T. Hunt, H. Coles, E. Shorey, W. Dunstan and two other members, who had co-signed the loan, breathed a sigh of relief. It took five years to repay the loan and although Dick Woodward was repaid the interest on his loan each year, he always returned it to the club.
In 1964-65, all the Gold Bonds that were sold in 1930 to finance the construction of the new club, after the club had been destroyed by fire, were paid off. This action freed the club from mortgages for the first time in its history. This was accomplished after diligent research and legwork by C.L. "Clair" Moyse, for which he was rewarded an Honorary Life membership. With the club free from debt, substantial amounts of money were raised for the club's 75th anniversary celebration in 1969-70.
Here are a few of the highlights of this quarter century: (1) 1949 - The present-day McLean Measure was invented by D.V. McLean of the Lachine Curling Club and William Haliburton of the Montreal West Curling Club as a non-profit contribution to the curling game. (2) 1959-57- Lachine, Point Claire, Ste. Anne de Bellevue and Hudson Whitlock agreed to sponsor an event by sharing their facilities. Baie d'Urfé, Glenmore and Hudson Legion joined later. The purpose of the venture was to eliminate the conflict of holding individual bonspiels - and so the Lakeshore International Bonspiel was born. The main event trophy was donated by Lachine C.C. (3) 1958 - The first Past Presidents' Dinner was held and P.P. pins were presented. Fifteen Past Presidents, who had presided over club events from 1921 to 1958, attended the inauguration of this annual event. (4) 1959-60 – The Ted Hunt rink of G. Cape, R. Hoppe and A. Lamb was the first Brier Tankard rink to represent L.C.C. at the Dominion Championship. (5) 1963 - The Canadian Branch awarded L.C.C. the finals of the Royal Victoria Jubilee. This was the first time the finals were played in a club other than one located in Ottawa or Montreal.
Ted
Hunt, Dan Rafael, Garth Ruiter
1970-1994
TWENTY-FOUR
WONDERFUL YEARS IN RETROSPECT
by: GORDON PRICE
We
will now take you on a nostalgic trip down through
the past 24 years highlighting the efforts and
accomplishments of our Past Presidents, who
all worked so tirelessly for the betterment
of Lachine Curling Club. Let me also take this
opportunity to thank the City of Lachine, on
behalf of all our members, for its much appreciated
financial support during these years.
![]() E.M. Paul 1970-71 |
Mac
remembers that this was the year of the
big hangover! After a year of celebrating
our 75th Anniversary, it was time to get
back to some serious curling. To top off
a year of superior Club curling, our team
of Harry Coles, Sid Thomas, Bob Jack and
Bill Frier represented Quebec in the Dominion
Senior Finals. |
![]() E.P. Shannon 1971-72 |
Paul inherited a financially sound set of books and he made sure that by the end of his term they would be just as good. His friendly nature ensured that a good time was had by all. Bar prices were: mixed drinks $1.00, sherry $0.50, beer $0.40 |
![]() A.G. Bowes 1972-73 |
Art
declared this as a year of fund raising
to help defray the costs of next year's
major ice renovation. It was agreed that
the main source of revenue would be dependent
upon the social activities of the Club.
To this end, many events were run including
a "Paris Night" complete with
a unique Arc de Triomphe made by the Club
Members' Committee. The year was a resounding
financial success. |
![]() G.G. Brown 1973-74 |
Investigations
had discovered that the brine pipes, which
were embedded in the concrete, were leaking.
George inherited the task of supervising
the installation of pvc pipes that would
lie on top of styrofoam and then be covered
with sand. Many hours of intensive labour
were put in by numerous Club members.
One story goes, that one night, George,
Garth Ruiter and Ted Hunt had the job
of pumping out the brine into large drums
and around 3:00 a.m.. Garth and Ted decided
to go home forgetting about old George
out in the lane working away! Twenty years
later the ice is still fine, but if you
are out in the ice-shed when it's very
quiet and you listen carefully, you may
hear George Brown's curses still bouncing
off the walls. |
![]() R. Martin 1974-75 |
Bob
was an amateur chef and he was great at
serving scrumptious meals in a hurry.
He had a kitchen staff that was second
to none. One of his helpers insisted on
remaining part of the crew even after
he found it necessary to leave the Club.
Bob's biggest attribute was his encouragement
of mixed curling. Every second Saturday
he organized "friendly curling".
As you arrived at the Club, teams were
made up and over the season you got to
play with everyone. Later in the evening
the carpets were rolled back and a dance
broke out, usually to Big Band music.
Bob had the Club swinging all year long. |
![]() G.H. Johnston 1975-76 |
Gerry
remembers this as the year of the Montreal
Olympics and the year that the Brier was
held in the Velodrome which had been converted
temporarily for curling. Many volunteers
from Lachine Curling Club assisted in
making this one of the best Briers ever.
The success was further enhanced by being
won by our "Belle Province"
representatives, Jim Ursel and his rink.
Gerry also remembers presenting the Lakeshore
International Trophy (A Event) to Jim
Templeman who beat Jim Ursel's Brier rink
in the final. It was this year that the
Board decided that the Club could no longer
afford to keep a chef in the kitchen to
prepare lunches. Chef John Kopaka and
his assistant were therefore only called
upon to serve at entertainment functions. |
![]() R. Sutherland 1976-77 |
Ron
was instrumental in finally settling the
Club colours. Sweaters would now be red
with white trim. Also, the Club would
no longer supply the members with brooms.
A tape player was purchased for the main
hall. Renovations during Ron's term included
a new roof on the ice-shed, a new water
main entry and replacement of the water
pipes. Ron finished the year with a deficit
of $6,969.00. Manager Bert Ley retired. |
![]() R. Brims 1977-78 |
Due
to a dwindling membership. Bob and his
Board decided that membership fees would
be frozen and the $100.00 initiation fee
dropped. Regular male fee was $165.00
This was the year that the Evening Ladies
became a separate entity and elected Dot
Piper as their first President. Ron Sutherland
volunteered to take on the position as
temporary Manager. Also, a voluntary bartender
system was started. The kitchen was repainted.
Kay Fisher won the Grand Bahamas raffle.
Bar prices were: mixed drinks $1.25, wine
$0.80, beer $0.60. |
![]() J. Yerbury 1978-79 |
Jim
was parachuted in as President since our
previous V.P., Sandy Sanitrar, was moving
out of town. Jim says that Larry Merrill
told him he was the last hope since they
had gone down the alphabet and there was
nobody else to ask past the Y's! Kay Tomalty
became our new Manager. L.C.C. hosted
the Lady Gilmour Bonspiel Finals. The
ice-shed roof was painted and there were
also various roof repairs. The old elm
tree was removed and the firewood was
given to the neighbours. The new sweaters
cost $35.00 and brooms were $15.00. An
Lamb, President 1965-66, was inducted
into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame. |
![]() H. Dennis 1979-80 |
Howard
and his Board decided to spruce up the
Club. An island counter was installed
in the kitchen. The TV shelf was built
in the comer of the bar. Videotron was
connected at a cost of $7.29 per month.
Mercury lights were installed in the parking
lot. A new brine pump and expansion tank
were purchased. Juniors in good standing
were now allowed to play in Club events
and spare in Woodward and Dagenais competitions.
The golf tournament cost $8.00 and dinner
was $6.00. |
![]() G. Bowes 1980-81 |
George
had quite a year. The Lachine team of
Jim Wilson, Garth Ruiter, George Brown
and Bert Skitt won the Canadian Seniors
Championship at Nanaimo, B.C. George arranged
through Air Canada to fly our Champs home
first class; the wives had to ride in
the back of the plane! Many Club members
were at Dorval airport to welcome home
our victorious team and escort them back
to the Club for a rip-roaring bash. This
was the year that the Nomads joined our
Club as Social Curling members. The Last
Chance Bonspiel was taken over by L.C.C.
when Caledonia C.C. closed. Major renovations
included removal of upstairs men's washroom
and installation of new stove, dishwasher
and cupboards in the kitchen. The organ
was purchased with a grant from the federal
"New Horizons" program. |
![]() D. Burgess 1981-82 |
Don
along with Jean Dandurand spent most of
the summer supervising the installation
of a new efficient gas furnace. Cost savings
to the Club have been enormous with this
switch to gas. Heat detectors and emergency
lights were installed all over the Club.
The stairs were recarpeted. Ken Weldon
was inducted into the Canadian Curling
Hall of Fame. |
![]() G.G. Ruiter 1982-83 |
Garth
inaugurated the Quarter Century Club with
pins being presented to 31 men and 17
ladies. A 50 year gold pin was presented
to Ab Elder. Ab started curling at Lachine
in 1928. Margaret Barker also received
a 50 year gold pin. Garth's Pet Rock Program
financed new plastic covers for all the
rocks. A shelf with a valance was installed
over the viewing areas to display our
trophies. Bar renovations included a new
ice machine and a beautiful wine-glass
rack, made and donated by Jim Wilson.
The men's washroom was renovated and dropped
ceilings were installed in the ladies'
washroom and in the downstairs viewing
area. |
![]() R.D. Field 1983-84 |
Ray
followed up with another year of Club
renovations including resurfacing of the
parking lot and new stucco on the shed
wall. All our sofas and chairs were reupholstered.
The fireplace was bricked in. A PA system
was installed. The lovely Tiffany lamp
over the pool table was made and donated
by Reg Tyier. |
![]() J.M. Sanitrar 1984-85 |
Sandy
was the only member ever to be Vice President
twice. He later became famous as, "Chef
Giovanni". Sandy made a trip to Government
House to introduce our Governor General
teams to Her Excellency, Madame Jeanne
Sauve. Our teams in this year were the
1984 and 1985 Quebec representatives for
the Brier, skipped by Rollie Paquin and
Don Aitken. The Club lobby was painted
and a new carpet laid. Advertising was
added to the roster to defray the cost
of printing. The hemp rope bumpers at
the ends of the ice lanes were replaced
by rubber. Cy Lister became Manager. Bar
prices were: mixed drinks $2.50, beer
$1.50, wine $1.25. |
![]() R.J. Laing 1985-86 |
The
highlight of Bob's year was the big Homecoming
weekend. It brought together old members
from as far away as Newfoundland and British
Columbia. Approximately thirty-five out-of-town
couples renewed acquaintances with old
friends from L.C.C. This was the year
that lady representatives were appointed
to the Board. All the downstairs chairs
were reupholstered and La Poudriere was
redecorated. The ice-shed was repainted
and afterwards. Bob said, "It brightened
up the ice lanes and made bad shots more
noticeable". |
![]() F. Wiggins 1986-87 |
Frank
had the foresight to originate the Emergency
and Centennial Fund. This was the year
that the John Grant Benefit Funspiel started.
Also, Sunday evening curling for beginners
started this year. L.C.C. hosted the Quebec
Provincial Police Playdowns. Curling Club
name plates were supplied by the City
ofLachine. A new L.C.C. sign was installed
on the wall facing the parking lot The
Board passed a motion that smoking be
prohibited on the ice. The lounge floor
was sanded and refinished. Charlie King
became Manager. |
![]() R.D. Field 1987-88 |
Ray
was confronted with an emergency repair
just before the start of curling. The
headers were leaking and had to be replaced.
Seven of the Club members advanced the
$11,000.00 required. Ray had us back on
the ice only a week late. By running a
tight ship during the year. Ray was able
to pay back the loans and have a surplus
at the end of the year. At the same time
he had the bar area painted and papered
and new arborite put on the bar. The cloak-room
and office were interchanged. A safe and
a photocopier were purchased. L.C.C. won
the Quebec Challenge Cup. |
|
Charlie
King called Gord, "Diamond Jim".
Gord believed that you had to spend money
to make money. Bar area renovations included
new flooring, bar sink, shelving, plumbing
and electrical wiring. A draft beer dispenser
was installed. A personal computer was
purchased. A microwave oven was bought
with Canadian Tire money collected by
Jerry Pangbom. A Curlbec boutique was
set up for curling supplies. This year
saw 74 new members join the Club. Many
of these were curlers from Wentworth C.C.
which had recently closed. The Member
of the Year Award was inaugurated and
the first recipient was Jerry Pangborn.
The Day Ladies celebrated their 90th Anniversary. |
![]() R. Williams 1989-90 |
Ron
hired Sandra Robertson as Manager. A new
tar and gravel roof was installed over
the enure Club. An answering machine was
purchased for the office. Two bar stools
were donated by Gord Price and the family
of the late Norman Eaves. New chairs,
desk and lamp were purchased for the ice
level viewing area. The visitors' cloakroom
was renovated. The mail box was made and
installed by Gerry Blair. The Larry Merrill
Bonspiel was sponsored and organized by
the Big Red Team and a painting by Aidan
Haley was the trophy. |
![]() L. Winslow 1990-1991 |
Larry
formed a committee to review and revise
the Club Bylaws. The objective was to
make the Club open to all members and
extend voting privileges to all sections
of the Club. Larry felt that this progressive
and historical change would ensure the
long term viability and future success
of our great Club. Helen Winslow became
the first lady appointed to serve on the
Board of Management, as Honorary Secretary.
The Board initiated a voluntary Centennial
levy on members in the amount of $20.00
per year for four years or one payment
of $60.00. This levy ensured guaranteed
entry, at no cost, into some of our Centennial
bonspiels and dinner dances. The compressor
room wall was rebuilt. The right-of-way
behind the Club was closed and a gate
was installed. |
![]() R. Haliburton 1991-92 |
Russ
said that the greatest achievement this
year was the acceptance of the new bylaws
which opened the Club and its Board of
Management to all of the membership. During
the recession years of the 90s, the watch
word was belt-tightening. To avoid a forecast
deficit, the Board scrimped and pinched
pennies all year. This summer also heard
the death knell for the "men only"
golf tournament. The Club was finally
changing. Air conditioning was installed
in the main hall and bar area. Bill Cook,
President 1960-61, was made an Honorary
Life member of the Canadian Branch. Art
Lamb, President 1965-66, was inducted
into the Governor General's Club. |
![]() R. Wilson 1992-93 |
Ross
and L.C.C. played host on Jan. 20, 1993
to some of the Scottish curlers who were
here to play with the Scots' Tour for
the Strathcona Cup Competition. The Day
Ladies hosted the Ladies Senior Provincial
Playdowns. Our Junior team of Chris LeCouffe,
Duncan Robcrtson, Graeme Robertson and
Jason Hachey won the Bronze Medal at the
Quebec Junior Winter Games, held in Baie
Comeau. The tartan banners used for the
Highland Fling were made by Elinor Brims
and Joan Martin. Katherine Kerr became
the first member to receive an Honorary
Life Membership after the integration
of the Club. |
![]() M. Cockhill 1993-94 |
Mel
along with Pete Simpson supervised the
installation of new ice-making equipment.
The ice-shed ceiling and rafters were
painted. The boards between the ice sheets
were removed for the first time in the
history of the Club. A new refrigerator
was purchased. Garth Ruiter, President
1982-83, was made an Honorary Life Member
of the Canadian Branch. |