Mixed International Bonspiel 1981

'A' Event Winners

Maurice (Skip) & Louise Daniel and Beth & Jack proctor

'A' Event Runners-Up

Rick & Cathy Cote and Pat & Dick (Skip) O'Connor 

'B' Event Winners

Mary & Jim Oliver and Vi & Jo (Skip) McGlynn

* * More Pictures from the 1981 Bonspiel click here * *

Barbie Goes Curling

Many years ago, while searching for curling items on eBay, I found a Barbie curling outfit.  It looked like an old-timer’s curling sweater.  I thought it was rather unique and, obviously homemade, perhaps one-of-a-kind.  So, I bought it and then found a Barbie doll to wear it.  (Why I had Barbie dolls is another…very long story).

In May of 2012 Bob Cowan & David B. Smith posted an article on their blog about Hand-Knitted Curling Sweaters - often referred to as Cowichan sweaters.  Within the article they had a picture of another Barbie sweater.   So, mine (in red) is not that unique.  Perhaps I’ll try to learn knitting so I can make an outfit for Ken. 

Bob & David’s Curling History blog can be found at www.curlinghistory.blogspot.com.

Happy Knitting, Angus

The First Scots Tour to Canada and the USA 1902-03

The idea of a group of curlers from Scotland to visit Canada and the USA had been discussed as far back as 1858.  The prominent idea was to hold friendly games.  The long winters in Canada and the States coupled with the curling facilities in covered rinks afforded these curlers five months of games every winter.  The Scottish curlers had on average a fortnight’s play every winter in the open air when the ice was very often in a rough or soft condition.

The Tour was approved in the spring of 1902.  The organization; the agenda; the members of the team and the clubs they would visit was prepared during the summer and fall of 1902.  On December 17, 1902 the team of 24 men left Glasgow for Liverpool.  Here they boarded the RMS Bavarian…after travelling 9,918 miles they returned to Glasgow on February 28, 1903.  This article focuses on the events in Detroit on January 31, 1903.

The visit to Detroit was mainly due to letters from the President of the Detroit Curling Club and the Secretary of the Ontario Curling Association.  One of these letters stated:  “Detroit can furnish ten sheets of ice, and a game here would probably be participated by the following clubs:  Windsor, Grand Rapids, Sarnia, Toledo and Detroit.”

After their brief experience at the royal city of Windsor the Scottish curlers were ferried across the broad river to Detroit, ‘the cleanest, brightest, neatest city in all the States.’  They had been anxious about their entry into America, for they were told before landing to answer the following questions:   Can you read and write?   Has your ticket been paid for by yourself?  Have you any money?  Have you ever been in prison or in a poorhouse?  Are you a polygamist?  Some of the team members were not quite sure if they could give satisfactory answers to these Yankee queries.  To their relief, no questions were asked has they alighted on States territory.  Their luggage was not searched.  It was a case of “snakes in Iceland” – they had no luggage to be searched.  On leaving Toronto they had been instructed to take as little as possible, and beyond their pajamas and the suit they curled in, they had little additional to cumber their week’s circular tour.  Besides, they did not sleep at Detroit but at Windsor.

The Scotch curlers were met at the foot of Woodward by members of the Detroit Curling Club.  The big special street car named ‘Yolande’ was utilized for a trip around the city.  The journey occupied considerable time, as the Detroit curlers were anxious that the visitors should see as much of the city as possible.  A luncheon was provided with numerous speeches, songs and stories.  The crowd adjourned to the Forest Avenue rinks where the remainder of the evening was spent with ‘stane and besom’.

 “The battle of Detroit went all in favor of the invaders, who thus crowned the week’s circuit with an American triumph.”  Three games were played – The Scots won 24 – 6.

In October 1903 The Detroit Curling Club received a handsomely embossed certificate of thanks from the Royal Caledonian Curling club of Scotland.  This proclamation is framed and hanging in The Club today.  There are very few clubs still in existence today that own one of these documents.  I have seen only one other at The St. Thomas CC in Ontario.

Good Curling, Angus MacTavish                                   

Those were the days, my friend...

Old Time Curlers at The Rookery

When two or more curlers gather for a friendly chat, sooner or later the conversation will be directed to a discussion of certain characters that frolicked on our ice in the days of yore.  As a friendly warning to the current membership, be careful of what you say and do because in another fifty years or more, you may be discussed in the same way.

And so, let’s talk about some of the old boys.  As starters we can consider John and Horace Dodge fresh out of Niles, Michigan, who were making more money that they could spend.  Their idea of a fun evening was to wreck the Ponchatrain bar and then cheerfully pay for the damages the following day.  In all fairness you couldn’t call them the “good guys with white hats” in those days. 

Another favorite haunt of the Brothers Dodge was our own hallowed halls.  A well authenticated story has it that one night, following a close game and while they were relaxing as curlers have always done, one of the brothers decided we should have a new club house.  This seemed like a good idea and so after another hour or so of elbow bending, one of the Dodges took out his ever ready check book and wrote one payable to The Detroit Curling Club in the tidy amount of $50,000.00.  The story should have ended there but it did not.  One outsider in the group – not a Dodge – took the check in hand and after the rink had called it a night, tore same up, probably figuring that brother Dodge had not known just what he was doing and would probably have stopped payment in the clear light of the following day.  This particular boy scout has never been identified, which is just as well, because he no doubt would be remembered today in infamy.  A few days after this incident, the writer of this check dropped dead.  In the light of subsequent events, would the Dodge estate have ever missed this one little item?

The above story is from the unpublished writings of John W. Taylor (Past President 1942-43).  It is printed here for the first time. 

Lang may ur’ lum reek,  Angus

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