,.,
.:

I guess everyone has their
favorite, but when it comes
to ice arenas I'll take
Rossland's.
I suppose it's because it's
the first indoor facility I
have bad a chance to enjoy.
They say your first love it
always the best, so let's say
that's my excuse.
I remember back in
Strathmore, Alberta, where
I saw my first ice-hockey
game, the rink there was an
outdoor one. That first
winter back in the late '30's I
was working on a farm
situated about 3½ miles by
road from town.
That winter I attended
every game the Redwings
played and I beat my own
path across a couple of miles
of open country through
snow sometimes three feet
deep. The amenities of that
rink consisted of a hot stove
room where one could warm
up between periods and buy
a bot dog. Out in the stands
during a good game there
was enough excitement to
keep one warm.
The Redwings bad a good
team, four or five Giroux
boys were the backbone of
the club and the opposition
consisted of teams from
Banff, Canmore, Gleicben
and a couple from Calgary in
a league known as the Bow
Valley league.
When I arrived in
Rossland in 1951, it was late
in the summer and I could
hardly wait to see wbat kind
of hockey we would see here.
I bad gotten a taste of the
senior game in Trail the
previous year and I really
looked forward to seeing

what Rossland bad to offer.
During that first winter
someone introduced me to
the sport of curling and I
took part in my first 'spiel in
the old facility just off the
main drag on Spokane
Street The new rink for
curling was added to the
hockey rink shortly after and
I took to curling every
chance I got. I tried the
men's club but shift work
interfered. Then a shift club
was started and it kept going
until I was ready to retire at
which time we formed what
is now the largest club in
town.
Actually, for a town of
Rossland's size we have a lot
of activity _in the winter
months. Two ladies' clubs, a
large mixed club and the
men's club plus our retirees
on the curling side.
On the other side there is
our number one attraction,
the Warriors, - plus fun
hockey and a fairly good
minor hockey program, both
boys and girls. The lounge
facilities are as good as any
in the Kootenays, in fact
there aren't many rinks in
the area where one can sit in
comfort and watch a hockey
game with a glass of beer or
a short drink to add to your
enjoyment
The rink used to be run by
a group of Rossland citizens
known as the Rossland Civic
Activities Association
(RCAA). These people did a
hell of a job, combining
many long hours of work at
the arena with a regular job
at Cominco. When they
finally threw in the towel, I
think they bad just found it

was getting too big to handle.
They banded it over to the
city who formed a recreation
commission. Today this
committee carries• on most
of the business from an office located in the arena.
This year, with 14 rinks in
our retirees' club we have to
curl three days a week. We
play.four games on Tuesday,
six games on Wednesday
and another four on Thursday. We have arranged for
every member of the club to
have a copy of the rink

~1;~;~;~;~;i;!;M;~;1:iM;1filllir==~=======h=;:;~~-'

personnel and the draws as
they come up, so it looks as
though we may be embarking on a banner season.
. On Thursday we buried a
popular member of our club
over the past few years,
Bruce Ackerman. I hadn't
know Bruce for long but our
association was always an
enjoyable one. We were
~now members of Branch
No. 14 of the Legion and
spent a number of happy
tim~ together in the club.
Till next week then I