Link to:
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.
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]
This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 4 January 2024
