Link to:
Presidents | Sources
The club started by renting two sheets of ice at the St. Johns Curling Club in 1917-1918 and three sheets at the Elmwood Curling Club in 1918-1919. The four people who were most involved in formation of the club were James McLellan, Doug McKay, Harry Tait, and Charles Nye.
The club was established in the summer of 1919 when land was leased from the West Kildonan Presbyterian Church. The club was located on Scotia Street next to the Old Kildonan Cemetery, where a three-sheet rink was erected with water taken from the Red River hauled by horses.
After 14 years, club participation dropped. From 1934 to 1938, the club was without a home and rented ice successively at the Thistle, Civic, and St. Johns clubs. In 1938, the club purchased land at 210 Enniskillen Avenue, just off Main Street near the Seven Oaks Monument (an historic marker that was embodied in the club crest) and a new clubhouse was built with three sheets. By 1952, it had been expanded to five sheets by adding a sheet to each side. Artificial ice was installed in 1958.
Over the years, improvements were made. In 1985, a lounge renovation was undertaken and, in 1993, a new modern ice shed was constructed to replace the old one. New rocks were acquired in 2002.
However, a downturn in the popularity of curling, combined with financial concerns, caused the club to close its doors after the 2016-2017 season. Once a decision was made to wind down the club operations, the volunteer club manager Denis Laliberte took a lead roll in conducting corporate meetings, dealing with lawyers, handling tax implications, and taking care of donations to the various charities.
The club was structured as a non-profit corporation and, when the clubhouse was sold, the monies were distributed to registered charities and other non-profit organizations who would continue to serve the community. The largest donations of $100,000.00 were provided to The Winnipeg Foundation and the Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation & Wellness Institute.
The West Kildonan Curling Club celebrated its closing and the 100th anniversary of the club with a closing dinner called “The Last Rock” on 15 September 2018.
Period
President
1919-1924
James “Jimmy” McLellan (1879-1947)
1924-1927
Henry Charles “Harry” Tait (1874-1948)
1927-1928
William Nathaniel Selkind Douglas McKay (1885-1972)
1928-1933
Charles Edwin Nye (1888-1974)
1933-1934
Dr. Earle Way Stewart (?-1970)
1934-1935
Leland Payson Bancroft (1880-1951)
1935-1936
Charles Edwin Nye (1888-1974)
1936-1937
Charles Edwin DePencier (1891-1972)
1937-1938
Henry Charles “Harry” Tait (1874-1948)
1938-1940
Hilton Rosswell Grose (1890-1961)
1940-1941
William “Bill” Scorer (1883-1961)
1941-1942
John Albert McLean (1891-1943)
1942-1944
Percy Beadwell Alderson (1888-1946)
1944-1945
John James Douglas (1890-1960)
1945-1946
Joseph Edward Wood
1946-1947
Cecil Joseph Henry “Cec” Lyon (1902-1968)
1947-1948
Harry Nelson Phizacklea (1895-1958)
1948-1949
Victor William George Siddall (1893-1971)
1949-1950
Thomas John “Jack” Spence (1909-1989)
1950-1951
Lawrence John Mathew (1911-?)
1951-1952
James David “Jim” Earls (1899-1990)
1952-1953
William John “Bill” Sherk (1890-1975)
1953-1954
Lennart Tore “Len” Lindgren (1910-2002)
1954-1955
Kenneth Dougall “Ken” McKeen (1892-1959)
1955-1956
Robert John “Bob” Matthewson (1908-1991)
1956-1957
Robert Edward “Bob” Chamberlain (1912-2003)
1957-1958
Andrew “Andy” Greer (1922-1972)
1958-1959
George Lenard Gibson (1921-2006)
1959-1960
Floyd Ervin Nicholson (1902-1966)
1960-1961
Carl Ketchen (1907-1985)
1961-1962
Ernest Hamilton “Ernie” Smith (1919-2001)
1962-1963
Ernest Edward “Ernie” Shaw (1905-1985)
1963-1964
Leslie Gordon “Les” Bake (1923-2007)
1964-1965
Donald Butcher (1935-2021)
1965-1966
Norman Greer (1920-1996)
1966-1967
Wesley Albert “Wes” Owen (1921-1987)
1966-1968
Lindsay Matthews
1968-1969
Harold Roy Stankey (1927-1997)
1969-1970
Thomas “Brian” Hardy (1927-2015)
1970-1971
John Daniel Linney (1926-2016)
1971-1972
Charles Baker
1972-1973
Alan Ingram
1973-1974
William Montgomery “Monty” Westmacott (1921-1992)
1974-1975
Douglas Ingram
1975-1976
Ernie Lindgren (1941-2012)
1976-1977
Clifford Matthew “Cliff” Nichol (1929-2023)
1977-1978
Tom Senior
1978-1979
Heinz Zurstegge (1937-2006)
1979-1980
William Fraser “Bill” Sutherland (1934-2017)
1980-1981
John Mirus
1981-1982
Ken Shostak (?-2014)
1982-1983
Scott Spring
1983-1984
Richard Leonard Dudek (1945-2016)
1984-1985
Robert Borden “Bob” Lacombe (1935-2021)
1985-1986
Geno “Gene” Hnatuk (1947-2024)
1986-1987
James “Jim” Livingston
1987-1988
Gordon Boitson (1940-2018)
1988-1989
Theodore “Ted” Ranick (1930-2020)
1989-1990
Ben Kaminski (1926-2011)
1990-1991
Ronald Paul “Ron” Mehmel (1951-2018)
1991-1992
Mitch Galagan
1992-1993
James William “Jim” Tomko (1941-2023)
1993-1994
Ray Dearman
1994-1995
Randy Klassen
1995-1996
Wesley John “Wes” Huta (1955-2006)
1996-1997
Cliff Bochen
1997-1998
Denis Laliberte (1948-2024)
1998-1999
Lewis Wasel
1999-2000
Neil Wawrykow
2000-2001
Allan Rudolph “Al” Mehmel (1953-2022)
2001-2002
Nick Doherty
2002-2003
William John Joseph “Bill” Horvath (1960-2019)
2003-2004
Dave Weslak
2004-2005
Steve Bjornson
2005-2006
PatrIcia Gail “Pat” Osato
2006-2007
Tim McGinn
2007-2008
Rob Humniski
2008-2012
Edward Walter “Ed” Turchyn (1972-2023)
2012-2015
Dennis Koroluk
2015-2017
Pietro McGillivray
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: West Kildonan Curling Club (210 Enniskillen Avenue, Winnipeg)
“West Kildonan curlers gather,” Manitoba Free Press, 19 April 1927, page 18.
“West Kildonan curlers hold annual windup,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 May 1928, page 24.
“Re-elect Chas Nye for third term,” Manitoba Free Press, 3 April 1930, page 11.
“West Kildonan Club curlers name leader,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 April 1933, page 15.
“Kildonan curlers name officials,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 April 1933, page 20.
“Kildonan Club curlers close,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 May 1933, page 13.
“Kildonan Curling Club arranges party for Mr & Mrs McLellan,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 March 1936, page 8.
“West Kildonan curlers end fine season,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 April 1936, page 12.
“New curling rink to be built in West Kildonan,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 April 1938, page 14.
“New curling rink planned,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 April 1938, page 13.
“Kildonan Club procures site,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 April 1938, page 13.
“Home to be proud of,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 November 1938, page 26.
“A night at the opera,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 January 1939, page 22.
“West Kildonan curlers prepare for action,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 October 1939, page 19.
“Curling with Scotty Harper,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 January 1941, page 18.
“West Kildonan Club in fete,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 April 1945, page ?.
“Missing the broom with Scotty Harper,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 January 1948, page 18.
“Siddall Heads Kildonan Club,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 April 1948. page 24.
“West Kildonan Names McKeen,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 May 1954, page 22.
“West Kildonan Curlers Name Officers,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 May 1955, page 29.
“Curlers Needed at Kildonan,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 November 1962, page 33.
“Butcher Named W K Head,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 May 1964, page 55.
“Weskay Curlers Elect Officers,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 May 1964, page 16.
“Wives Enjoyed Windup,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 April 1965, page 26.
“Greer Elected Kildonan Boss,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 June 1965, page 23.
“Matthews Elected President,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 May 1967, page 53.
“Weskay Club Elects Hardy,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 June 1969, page 66.
“West Kildonan Curlers Elect Ingram,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 May 1972, page 30.
“West Kildonan Curlers Elect Ingram,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 June 1974, page 13.
“Wheelies Gets Ready to Roll at New Location,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 March 2019, page 38.
Curling Capital: Winnipeg and the Roarin' Game, 1876 to 1988 by Morris Mott and John Allardyce, University of Manitoba Press, 1989.
We thank Neil Wawrykow for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 December 2024
