... ALK
Minor hockey in Rossland
today is quite a factor in the
lives of our youngsters. It
takes up a lot of the spare
time of around 150 of them on
the average, every winter and
supervising the progress of
these kids also takes up a lot
of the spare time of many
people who volunteer their
time and effort to make the
program the success it has
turned out to be.
I guess most people who
think about minor hockey in
Rossland, rate it as having its
beginnings at the time the
arena was built.
If you are looking at it from
the angle of organization, that
would be correct, but if we
dig back into the years prior
to the opening of the arena
and the formation of the
Rossland Minor Hockey
Association, we find that a
gent by the name of Ed
Walters ran a» epen-air rink
on his property which was
available to any Ressland
youngster who wanted to use
it.
I'm told it got quite a play
too, with Ed acting as
icemaker and supervisor as
weH as coach and manager.
Since then, the movement
has progressed by leaps and
bounds, reaching its peak
over the past few years.
During last season a change
was made in the format,
house leagues were run in the
most populous divisions and
rep teams played many
games with out-of-town teams
and many of these visited
Rossland.
This format allows the top
calibre kids more ice time,

but it allows those not-soadept youngsters to get
themselves plenty of time on
the ice also. This is also one of
the places where the volunteer help comes into play.
· Transportation is a big factor
in out-of-town games and the
kids are fortunate to have so
many people who are willing
to dig in and supply it.
Practically all the work
that goes into the supervising
of Rossland's minor hockey
players is geared to prepare
them for a chance to play for
our Junior Wariors and quite
a number of them have
graduated to the parent club
over the years. This year's
crop at training camp was a
good sample.
Some outstanding examples
of the kids who have come up
through the minor ranks in
the RMHA are Jim Stuart,
Jim Cotton, the Cox boys,
Rick and Ron, the Stantoes,
Tom, John and Gary, Rick
Dominici, Joe and John
Caren, "Hoss" and Bob
Drake, Bob Hook, Billy and
Robbie Martin, Ed and Gene
Legare, Ken "Butts" Bertoia,
Rick and Eddie Resse, Lyle
"Tieker" and Mike Oliver,
. J obn MacMaster, and the
three McFarland boys, John,
Steve and Dan.
The list of people who have
assisted in the development of
these youngsters is an impressive one. Many of them
are still helping today, while
newcomers show up all the
time; among those who have
helped administer the affairs
of the organization are Dr.
Phil McCormack, Jack
Fisher, Brian Rennison, Don

with
Harry
Pepper

McKay, Rollie Phillips, Jim
Markle, Maurice MacArthur,
Jim Schuck, Geoff Davies,
Gary Ho.Im, Arnie Sherwood
and Lloyd McLellan. Among
the women who have served
various terms on the board
are Vi Krest, Patsy Fisher,
Marilyn Davis and Barb
Armour.
There are probably other
who have been missed in this
report but it's pretty hard to
get all the data on an
organization as long-standing
as this one. Suffice to say that
we owe a debt of gratitude to
everyone who has helped
forward the cause of minor
hockey.
Minor Hockey Week, the
annual celebration of the
cause, is now country-wide in
its scope and threatening to
creep across our boundaries
to the south. Remember, if
you will, that Minor Hockey
Week was born in the West
Kootenay country. That's
quite a tribute in itself.