Manitoba Organization: Heather Curling Club

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Presidents | Sources

Originally known as the St. Boniface Curling Club, established in 1915, the name was changed to the Heather Curling Club at the first annual meeting. A group of Norwood neighbourhood residents obtained a charter, incorporated a company, and constructed a five-sheet building at the corner of Marion Street and Braemar Avenue.

The official opening of the club occurred on 8 January 1916. In 1931, the old rink and club rooms were renovated and enlarged. By 1945, that facility was in need of repairs so the club scrapped the old building and built a new seven-sheet rink which had its official opening in December 1949. The clubroom section of the building was not replaced until 1951. Two years later, Heather was the first city club to install an artificial ice plant.

In 1964, an offer to purchase the property by a supermarket chain was made and accepted so, in 1965 in conjunction with the club's 50th anniversary, Heather built a new eight-sheet rink at Youville and Yardley Streets in south St. Boniface.

Competitively, Heather has had two rinks represent the province at the Canadian Men's Curling Championship: the Clare De Blonde team in 1976 and Doug Harrison team in 1978. Heather teams has also had success with its mixed team skipped by Ernie Boushy winning two Canadian Championships in 1964 and 1966. In 1980, Jim Dunstone also won a Canadian Mixed Championship. In 1989, Cathy Overton skipped her team to the Canadian Junior Women's Championship, and in 2004, Martin Bailey's team won the Canadian Open Masters Championship.

Presidents

Period

President

1915-1917

Arthur E. Godsmark (1872-?)

1917-1918

Francis Robert “Frank” Dowse (1876-1948)

1918-1922

William Oswald “Ossie” Graham (1886-1964)

1922-1924

David Croom Whyte (1882-1928)

1924-1925

Joseph “Joe” Hearn (1884-1953)

1925-1927

William Nevison Ragland (1885-1975)

1927-1928

Joseph Arnold Bleakley (1883-1961)

1928-1930

Herbert Samuel Trumpour (1872-1947)

1930-1931 

Joseph Thomas “Joe” Borrowman (1884-1954)

1931-1933

Andrew Thomas “Andy” Wilson (1877-1963)

1933-1934

Joseph Lorne Thompson (1894-1955)

1934-1936

James Henry Gibson (1896-1976)

1936-1937

Robert MacLean

1937-1938

George Charles “Charlie” Court (1978-1959)

1938-1939

Sidney A. Henderson (1888-1967)

1939-1940

Albert “Alf” Barling (1885-1943)

1940-1941

John Paterson “Jack” Hutchison (1902-1960)

1941-1942

Archie Fowler McIntyre (?-1972)

1942-1943

James “Jim” Reid (1885-1969)

1943-1944

Frederick “Fred” Ward (1906-1966)

1944-1945

Robert Lorimer “Lorrie” Howden (1911-2001)

1945-1946

Raymond Adkins Hughes (1903-1980)

1946-1947

Herbert “Hebby” Axford (1894-1974)

1947-1948

William James “Bill” Thorogood (1906-1978)

1948-1949

Colin Beavis “Bee” Carson (1913-1983)

1949-1950

Rudolf August Rudy Fibiger (1902-?)

1950-1951

George Edward “Ted” Carmode (?-1999)

1951-1952

Robert Lawrie Kergan (1905-1964)

1952-1953

Joseph Melville “Mel” Kneeshaw (1901-1964)

1953-1954

James Allan (1872-1970)

1954-1955

William Alfred “Bill” Villiers  (?-2001)

1955-1956

Ingvar “Jerry” Oterholm (1912-2009)

1956-1957

Mike Demetrioff (?-1993)

1957-1958

John “Red” Watt (1907-1983)

1958-1959

Alfred Wells

1959-1960

William George “Bill” Noyes (1911-1984)

1960-1961

Melvin Paul “Mel” Johnson (1905-1983)

1961-1962

Charles Herbert Weber (1909-1981)

1962-1963

William “Bill” Hallem (1914-1990)

1963-1964

Raymond Lloyd Johnston (1922-2019)

1964-1965

John “J. B” Demetrioff (1915-1991)

1965-1966

Victor L. Fisher (?-1988)

1966-1967

Robert Findlay Reid (1917-1992)

1966-1968

Anthony James “Tony” Gaudes (1924-1996)

1968-1969

Robert Raymond “Bob” Noyes (1935-2011)

1969-1970

Omer Van Walleghem (1917-2013)

1970-1971

Terry Hughes

1971-1972

Garry DeBlonde

1972-1973

Walter Omer Van Walleghem (1914-1975)

1973-1974

Alexander Melrose “Alex” Swan (1908-1974)

1974-1975

Frederick George “Fred” Ellis (1929-2021)

1975-1976

Edward Greig “Ed” Hird (1932-2010)

1976-1977

Dick Van Walleghem

1977-1978

Dr. Richard Howden

1978-1979

Roy Harold Arndt (1935-2015)

1979-1980

Lloyd George Boden (1934-2023)

1980-1981

William James “Bill” Hughes (1940-2023)

1981-1982

William Peter “Bill” Harrison (1947-2017)

1982-1983

Brian Arthur Pedden (1935-2021)

1983-1984

William Biehl

1984-1985

Dave Pedden

1985-1986

James Peter George “Jim” Okolita (?-2022)

1986-1987

Roger Pantel

1987-1988

Art LaCoste

1988-1989

Louis Kolly

1989-1990

Gary Thornton Smith (1940-2016)

1990-1991

Richard “Dick” Balog (1938-2021)

1991-1992

Bill Mestdagh

1992-1993

Leonard John Conrad “Len” Spitznagel (1932-2022)

1993-1994

James Samson

1994-1995

Kenneth Rowson

1995-1996

Claude Marc Gabriel Joseph Vigier (1957-2014)

1996-1997

Gilbert D. Dorge

1997-1998

Lynn Coleman

1998-1999

L. Douglas Harrison

1999-2000

Robert E. “Bob” Allan (1942-2023)

2000-2001

Normand J. Philippe

2001-2002

Blair Brown

2002-2003

Ian Rogers

2003-2004

Ron M. Anderson

2004-2005

Stanley Keith “Stan” Dudenhoffer (1940-2022)

2005-2006

Rick A. McRae

2006-2008

Craig Frizzley

2008-2010

Allan Handford

2010-2012

William Biehl

2012-2014

Ron Declercq

2014-2015

Vacant

2015-2016

Eric McCormick

2016-2017

Vacant

2017-2018

Vacant

2018-2019

Vacant

2019-2020

Vacant

2020-2021

Vacant

2021-2022

Vacant

2022-2023

Vacant

See also:

The Heather Curling Club, 1916-2016: An Illustrated History by Ed Ledohowski for Heather Rink Limited, 2018 [PDF format, 45 MB]

Sources:

This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 4 January 2024