Manitoba Organization: St. Vital Curling Club

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Presidents | Sources

Winnipeg newspapers reference the St. Vital club being formed in 1913 but only having a brief existence. The article references the club being part of the St. Vital Agricultural College which was located on the southwest corner of St. Mary's Road and St.Vital Road with two sheets and adding four more sheets for the 1915 season. The club had 28 curlers and David Croom Whyte (1882-1928) served as the first President. In 1920, the club tried to revive itself with Robert Henry Lyon (1869-1948) serving as President for the 1920-1921 season.

The St. Vital Curling Club was founded in 1933, and the first rocks, borrowed, were thrown in December 1933, in a building owned by the St. Vital Agricultural Society. The building located at St. Anne's Road and Fermor Avenue, was used in summer months for agricultural fairs, displays, horse shows and animal exhibits. The newly formed St. Vital Curling Club arranged to lease the premises during winter months, which allowed three sheets of ice. The first club President was Allan J. Ramsay (1885-1952). The club affiliated with the Manitoba Curling Association in 1937.

As the curling club grew, a lean-to addition was added in the 1940s to house an additional sheet of ice. In 1950, the club purchased the building, and added another lean-to, which allowed for six sheets of ice. In 1954, a large supermarket chain purchased the land from the city.

In 1956 the club moved to its present location at St. Anne's Road and Regal Avenue. A new clubhouse was added in 1958, through fundraising that included an airplane as the prize, complete with flying lessons. Artificial ice was installed for the 1958-1959 season. In 1965, again through fundraising, this time with an automobile as the prize, the current pillar free barn was constructed. In October 1965, the new six-sheet arena was officially opened; in 1972, a second storey was added to the clubhouse, with bar facilities and dance floor.

Along with continued improvements, the latest upgrade has been the purchase of new curling rocks in 2012, and an update to the club’s interior to reflect the club colours of blue and gold.

To celebrate St. Vital Curling Club members, team Jennifer Jones, who won the Women’s Gold medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, the club commissioned a mural depicting the ladies’ accomplishment on its southern outer wall. As well, the city designated Regal Avenue with the honorary title of “Team Jones Way”.

Presidents

Period	President
1933-1934	Allan J. Ramsay (1885-1952)
1934-1936	Clifford Sayre Blenkhorn (1895-1980)
1936-1937	I. G. Dickson
1937-1938	Arthur Henry “Art” Leech (1892-1986)
1938-1939	William “Bill” Tod (1869-1943)
1939-1940	Harry William Gore (1880-1963)
1940-1941	Alexander Lawrence (?-1957)
1941-1942	Robert Stewart McClay (1892-1977)
1942-1943	William Donald “Bill” Peters (1893-1957)
1943-1944	Charles Stewart Simpson (1892-1974)
1944-1945	Francis Garnet “Frank” Donaghy (1882-1964)
1945-1946	Percy Ferman Thompson (1898-1977)
1946-1947	Frank Wall
1947-1948	Jack Watson
1948-1949	Harvey Charles Kendall (1907-1980)
1949-1950	Arthur Ronald Thorpe (1906-1992)
1950-1951	Wellington Geddes Rathwell (1887-1951)
1951-1952	W. Lloyd Greenway (1909-?)
1952-1953	Francis Arthur Bowman (1906-1962)
1953-1954	Herbert Brown “Brownie” Grant (1911-1991)
1954-1955	Jack Carter (1907-1998)
1955-1956	James Maynard Davis (?-1993)
1956-1957	Joseph Robert “Bob” Coxe (1919-1983)
1957-1958	Lorne Arthur Leech (1922-2005)
1958-1959	Ronald T. Baker (1917-1991)
1959-1960	Herbert Reginald “Herb” Turner (1916-1997)
1960-1961	Harold Hubert Hood (1903-1977)
1961-1962	Roy Russell “Bud” Ramsay (1920-2001)
1962-1963	Wilfred Midge Dodds (1902-1985)
1963-1964	Arthur Alexander Murphy (1917-2018)
1964-1965	Louis Plantje (1921-2001)
1965-1966	B. McKay
1966-1967	John Gordon “Gord” Rayment (1921-1985)
1966-1968	Barry Smith
1968-1969	Victor Charles “Vic” Rose (1920-1997)
1969-1970	Albert “Al” Lafreniere (1922-1995)
1970-1971	Lorne Cameron
1971-1972	William J. “Dutchy” Hems (1928-1998)
1972-1973	Shigeo Sakiyama (1920-1992)
1973-1974	Arthur “Art” Gomez Fonseca (1931-2015)
1974-1975	John Henry Pratt (1930-1995)
1975-1976	Percival “Percy” Frederick Macklem (1921-2001)
1976-1977	Robert Leslie “Bob” Caughlin (1934-2012)
1977-1978	Wayne Jones
1978-1979	Gerry Ducharme
1979-1980	Augie Haugen
1980-1981	Barry Hewitt
1981-1982	Stanley Hiroaki “Stan” Osaka (1931-2015)
1982-1983	Glen Brand
1983-1984	Geoffrey Lawrence “Larry” Jones (1939-2019)
1984-1985	Bryan Davies (1932-2018)
1985-1986	Gord Horton
1986-1987	Greg Milloy
1987-1988	Robb Finnen
1988-1989	Denis Lafreniere (1931-2014)
1989-1990	Al Pilling
1990-1991	Bart Jenner
1991-1992	Thomas Rae Bellamy (1949-2016)
1992-1993	Ed Pratcshler (1932-2020)
1993-1994	Larry Smith
1994-1995	Les Oliver
1995-1996	David Klym
1996-1997	Dan McDonald
1997-1998	Roger Fontaine
1998-1999	Lorne Cox (1943-2017)
1999-2000	Mike Ducharme
2000-2001	Jim Colman
2001-2002	Howard Bloomfield
2002-2003	Ken Stanley
2003-2004	Bob Kirkland
2004-2005	Jim Pratcshler
2005-2006	Richard Muntain
2006-2007	Ralph Dooley
2007-2008	William “Bill”  Stewart
2008-2009	Mike Hebert
2009-2010	Annette Giguere
2010-2011	Terry Moon
2011-2012	Darryl Bukoski
2012-2013	Neil Denyer
2013-2014	Duane Budnick
2014-2015	Matt Jacques
2015-2016	Greg Keddie
2016-2017	Al Wingate
2017-2018	Pam Kok
2018-2020	Ken Stevens
2020-2022	Jason Pruden
2022-2023	Kevin Blunden

Sources:

“St. Vital Curling Club adds four sheets of ice for this season's play,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 December 1915, page 21.

“St. Vital will have curling - Lovers of the “roaring game” decide to revive old club,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 June 1920, page 14.

“New St. Vital rink is big step from 3 sheeter in 1933,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 November 1955, page 38.

This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 October 2022