Museum programer provides hockey history lesson
Photo by Bonnie Whitehead
CLIFFORD - Seniors’ Centre for Excellence program coordinator Helen Edwards welcomed a large crowd to the lunch and learn program on Feb. 21 at Knox United Church in Clifford.
Donna Gingrich served a lunch of soup and sandwiches with a Valentine’s dessert. Helpers included administrative assistant Carmela Ieropoli, Mary Cain, Faye Douglas and Payton Douglas.
Wellington County Museum and Archives activity programmer Kyle Smith shared a presentation on the history of hockey.
Whether you laced up your skates, listened to Foster Hewitt, or recall the shot heard around the world in the 1972 Summit Series, hockey is undoubtedly a favourite winter sport. Many claim to have invented the sport, but the Biltmore Hat Company in Guelph is credited with “the hat trick” a cultural reference know all around the world. The rules for playing, the uniforms, the teams have changed, but the hockey legends and heroes remain.
Smith showed photos of women on the ice in Clifford in the 1890s and recalled the hockey riot in 1950 between Mount Forest and Arthur. He talked about Harriston being Northern League champs in 1919, the depression, the amateurs, the pros, the Olympics, and one of the first greats of the game and 1947 Hall of Famer, Cyclone Taylor.
During question period, Kyle shared a uniform worn in 1935, including a wool shirt, shorts, wool stockings, skates, and goalie mitt, a far cry from the uniforms and protective equipment of today.
This month, Danielle Parsons will take a closer look at diabetes. Sign up at 519-638-1000 to reserve a spot at the table.
