More Detroit Curling Club Pins

The original Detroit Curling Club crest was patterned after the City of Detroit’s seal.  We are unsure when it was adopted, but we do know that it was replaced by the current crest in 1934.  In 1805, fire destroyed most of the settlement of Detroit.  The City of Detroit’s seal was originally sketched by J.O. Lewis in 1827.  The motto “Speramus Meliora Resurget Cineribus” is translated to “We hope for better things.  It will arise from the ashes”. 

The 14K gold pin above showing ‘DCC 1928’ is engraved on the back:  “Patron’s Prize Won by Mrs. Chas. Boyle”.  There was a Club member named Charles Boyle in 1928.  How or why this pin was awarded; how many years that it may have been awarded are all unknown to us.  We have found no other references to the “Patron’s Prize” since we have no Board minutes nor Scots Wha Hae issues (DCC newsletter) from this time-frame. 

  

      

Bonspiels often award a pin to the winners.  Above is the only DCC pin awarded in the 1930's that we have seen.  Pin trading has been popular among curlers since the 1920’s.  Some teams in the mid-last-century had their own nickname and designed their own pin for trading as the traveled to bonspiels.  The Detroit Polecats is one example from the Detroit Club.

Memorabilia Curliana Lochoceola

A few years ago, on a perfect weather day for curling,  we cleared off the pond in the 'back 40', carried a few curling stones out for a little test run.  Here is the video of that test.

Curling Match in 1845

Every curler knows that the first curling club in the USA was The Orchard Lake Curling Club formed in the winter of 1831-32.  If you have read the history booklets of The Detroit Curling Club you may recall that curling in Detroit started in the winter of 1836-37.  According to Thomas Williamson, during that season the Detroiters ventured north to Orchard Lake for a match where they were defeated, but learned much of the game; the enthusiasm and the camaraderie that our sport promotes.

We have recently found an article printed on Feb 27, 1845 in Detroit’s Democratic Free Press describing a trip to Orchard Lake for a curling match.  The author (I believe his name is Torquil) claims that this match in 1845 is the first of its kind in Michigan.  We reprint some of it here…

“The Curlers of Detroit having formed themselves into a Club, and prepared cast iron blocks, of forty to fifty pounds weight, molded precisely in the form of the old Stones, set earnestly to practice this winter upon the ice of our noble river.  The Curlers of Orchard and Pine Lakes, a band of jovial, independent farmers, residing in Oakland County, about 25 miles from this city, instilled with the spirit of sportive rivalry, sent us a challenge to meet them at any given time, upon either of these lakes, “to do battle”.  This challenge, of course, was eagerly accepted, and Thursday, the 13^th was the appointed day.

“The morning of the day of battle betokened just such weather as a Curler could wish – keen, cold and cloudy.  Pine Lake was selected as the scene of operations.  About nine o’clock the combatants were on the field and proceeded to choose sides.  Twenty-eight players were chosen, fourteen to a side, making two Rinks.  Dr. Wilson and Squire Gilmore being appointed Skips on the part of the Lakes Club and Messrs. Robert Linn and William Barclay on that of the Detroit Club.

“The sport commenced in the true spirit of older time.  Modern cares and modern phraseology were lost in the kindly enthusiasm.  Nothing could be more amusing to those who understood or more unintelligible to those who did not understand the peculiar technicalities of the game:

“Man, Gordie ye’re  a jewel, that was a bonny shot.”  “Draw Jonny to my Cowe.”  “Rab the house is open noo, slide straight in an’ tak ye’re dinner on the Tee.”  “Gies the ice Wille, soup’ him past!”  “Ha! Ha! Jamie ye’re a hog.”

“Fortune dawned at the outset upon the Lake Curlers, owing to the advantage of their wooden blocks, which were some fifteen pounds lighter than the opposing iron ones; but the tide of luck turned, and the struggle continued equal for some time.  After a lively contest of five hours, the victory declared in favor of the Detroit Club - the aggregate of both Rinks being 44 to 33.  It was really pleasing to observe the good humor, free of all profane or vulgar expressions, which prevailed throughout the day.

“Dr. Wilson politely invited all hands to take dinner at his house.  The evening was spent “in mirth and glee”.  Old songs charmed the fleeting moments.  One half of us remained with the Doctor, while the other half returned to the house of Mr. George Dow.  We all fell asleep with the impression that if we ran them in our debt on the ice, they double repaid us in hospitality and kindness.

“Next morning we mounted our wagons for Detroit, each with a twig of Juniper in his cap by way of laurel.  The curiosity of the good people by the road side, was greatly excited at our appearance, and having no idea of the badges being worn upon any occasion except a political one, actually supposed we were celebrating the annexation of Texas.”

Ed Note:  This is the first time that I have found a reference that Detroit curlers first used “irons”.  Secondly, it is hard for us to imagine that a 25 mile journey from Detroit to Orchard Lake probably took 4 to 6 hours.  Even if they had taken a train, the route from Detroit to Pontiac had just been completed in 1843 and it took over 4 hours on a good day if the engineer did not stop too often to pick-up or drop-off passengers.

The Club Crest

John Kay (DCC President 1901-02) was born in Scotland in 1850.  He and his parents immigrated to Canada in 1851. At 13 John learned the jeweler’s trade at his father’s store in Galt, Ontario.  In 1881 he moved to Detroit and became the manager for the ‘Roehm & Wright’ a jewelry store.  He subsequently bought out Mr. Roehm and they reorganized the business as ‘Wright, Kay & Company’.   Mr. Kay left this endeavor in 1907 to form the jewelry store of ‘John Kay and Company’.  He specialized in diamonds and other fine jewelry.  He was recognized as one of the few experts on diamonds and precious stones in the country and wrote a book – The Diamond – a reference book still in use today.  Reprints can be bought at Amazon.

Mr. Kay designed the current Club crest in 1934.  The crest is based upon a Scottish Clan crest.  The strap and buckle symbolizes the encircling of the membership of the clan and allegiance to the clan chief.  Rather than a clan motto we see the name of the club.  The rock and crossed brooms have obvious meaning and the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland since the 1200’s.

In January 1935 this design was adopted by The Board of Directors as the new club’s crest. ‘John Kay & Company’ produced 100 badges (pins) for the members of The Club.  It is assumed that more batches were produced by them for The Club for the next 10 or twenty years.  Here is a picture of the front and back of one of these original pins.

              

Occasionally, you can find one of these on eBay.  Later pins were produced with the company names of “Weyhing Detroit” (Weyhing Brothers Manufacturing); “Richard Hemsley LTD” (1970s); “The Pin Place Fort Dodge IA” (our current supplier); and an unknown company, since they did not print a name on the back.   The pin has always been unique in the curling pin-collecting world because to the addition of the ‘raised’ rock which is added to the basic pin making it three-dimensional.  (September 7, 2013 – addition to article:  Club Pins were also made by "Artiss-Regina".  I think these were produced before the “Richard Hemsley LTD” pins).

The February 2, 1938 Board of Director’s minutes state that the design be adopted as the club crest for producing embroidered cloth patches.  The board recommended that the crest be worn on the left upper sleeve.  You can see this in many of the old photographs around The Club.

Good Curling.  Angus MacTavish

PS – Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqZ7DLr4tDk to see how  cloisonné pins are made.

Curling at The Detroit Zoo

The Detroit Zoo we know today opened in Royal Oak in 1928. It was the creation of the Detroit Zoological Society, founded in 1911--but it was not the first "Detroit Zoo".   In 1883, the short-lived Detroit Zoological Garden opened in Corktown, on Michigan Avenue just west of Tenth Street.

For less than a year between 1883 and 1884, Corktown was home to the very first Detroit Zoo. It was a privately-owned enterprise founded by businessmen with apparently no professional experience in animal husbandry. The Detroit Zoological and Acclimatization Society filed for incorporation on June 20, 1883, stating that it was established "for the purpose of exhibiting all manner of wild and other animals, plants, minerals, and other objects of natural history of every kind." It was founded with $10,000 in capital stock.

On July 11, 1883, the Free Press reported:

“A number of the animals for the Detroit Zoological Garden have arrived and are now domiciled in a temporary structure on the Michigan avenue circus grounds. The animals consist of a lion called "The Duke of Wellington," a lioness, a deer and a hyena.”

In order to maintain attendance during the winter months, an ice skating rink was opened on the property on December 17, 1883. Contests for "fancy skating" were held, and music was frequently supplied by the Tenth Infantry Band. It was claimed that "upwards of 3,000 persons" visited the zoo and ice rink on New Year's Day 1884, but this is almost certainly an exaggeration. The ice became a popular spot for curling, and was frequented by the Granite Curling Club and the Detroit Curling Club. 

(Note:  This writer believes this would have been the Detroit Thistle Curling Club.  The ‘old’ Detroit club had merged into the formation of the Granite club and the current Detroit Curling Club did not form until the winter of 1885).

Despite the impressive attendance reported by the zoo, it was unable to meet its financial obligations.  The zoo closed on July 29, 1884 and the property and animals were auctioned off immediately afterward.  In December 1884 it was converted into the Dime Roller Rink. The lot behind the building was again flooded and opened as an ice skating rink with a new entrance on Church Street.

By September of 1885, the building was remodeled and opened under new management as the West Side Roller Rink.  Between 1886 and 1887 it operated as the Granite Rink, apparently after the Granite Curling Club.  In 1888 the building was listed as vacant. At the time a newspaper article described it as an "old, dilapidated, tumble-down brick structure".

The Granite Club disbanded after the formation of the current Detroit Curling Club in about 1888 or 1889. 

(The above information is from www.corktownhistory.blogspot.com by Paul Szewczyk.  It is reprinted here with his permission.)

We will present more information about The Granite Curling Club in future articles.

Good curling and Lang May ‘ur Lum Reek,

Angus MacTavish

Things I found while looking for other things...

triv·i·a   [triv-ee-uh]

plural noun

matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles;
trivialities.

If you have read Thomas Williamson’s history booklet of The Detroit Curling Club you know that in the early 1900s The Club was located at Forest & Fourth Avenues in Detroit.  In 1906 the old original building was replaced by “substantial and commodious quarters”. 

Recently, we found a copy of The American Architect and Building News dated June 30, 1906.  There was a short article:

“Detroit, Mich. – Architects Grylls & Gies, 520 Wayne County Savings Bank (Bldg), have prepared plans and are ready to take figures for a club-house for the Detroit Curling Club, B.F. Guiney, secretary, 230 Jefferson Ave.:  to be a 2-story, 97 x 101 ft., of frame and brick, composition roof.”

Then we discovered a copy of The Plumbers Trade Journal dated July 1, 1906:

“J.W. Partln, 56 E. Congress St., has secured the plumbing contract for the new Detroit Curling Club…”

(Did he supply the original classic wooden toilet seats?  The same seats gone missing during the move from Detroit to West Bloomfield – rumored to have been taken to Windsor, but that’s another story.)

I wonder what happened to Grylls & Gies and if the original plans still exist somewhere in a file cabinet.

We are not sure how to use this information in an after-curling bar bet.  We are confident that someone in The Club will figure out a way to use this trivia.

Lang may yur lum reek.