Dear
editor,
Since I enjoy reading the articles about curling history, I read the
article "Curling in the USA before 1832" with great interest. The article
mentioned that "... the Orchard Lake Curling Club was declared the first
in the USA." And later, "Sorry, Orchard Lake CC, you lose your
title." The documentation presented indicated that curling took place in
New York before 1832, but it did not indicate that there was an organized
curling club before the Orchard Lake club. This could explain the
apparent contradiction in Mr. David Foulis declaring the Orchard Lake Curling
Club the first club while still mentioning that curling took
place earlier elsewhere.
Joel.
Joel.
Thank
you for the note, Joel. We are very
happy that people
You
raise a good question about our conclusion that the Orchard Lake Club is not
the "Mither Club" of organized curling clubs in the USA. You're right
in that there's no definitive proof of an earlier curling club. It is
all but certain, however, there was curling in New York before 1832. Furthermore, it's likely that the Dutch were
curling in New Amsterdam, even before the Scots arrived.
As
to whether any of this curling was under the auspices of an organized club, the
St. Andrews Society of New York (founded in 1756) would assuredly qualify.
There's reasonable evidence that curling was a regular, if infrequent, part of
the club's offerings and its members' lives.
Lang
may yir lum reek,
Angus
MacTavish
Peter Dow curling on Orchard Lake. Circa 1915. Note the small stones. Perhaps they are "irons.
Detroit Curling Club members demonstrate curling on Orchard Lake in 1975.
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