{"id":6289,"date":"2020-10-31T14:18:46","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T18:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6289"},"modified":"2020-10-31T14:27:28","modified_gmt":"2020-10-31T18:27:28","slug":"grand-match-grenadier-pond-high-park-curling-club-jan-3o-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6289","title":{"rendered":"Grand Match, Grenadier Pond, High Park Curling Club Jan 3o, 1993"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
EPISODE 155     THE  GRAND MATCH OF CURLING\u2026ON THE ICE BENEATH WHICH THE GRENADIERS WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE DROWNED<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
THE Schneller Team entry in the High Park Curling  Club GRAND MATCH 1993 celebrating  80 years of fine curling.  Left to right:  Mike Dent, Alan Skeoch,<\/div>\n
Dave Snyder ,  Brad Schneller (skip).  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dateline: Winter 1993<\/div>\n
Occasion: HIGH PARK CURLING CLUB GRAND  MATCH<\/div>\n
Location:  Grenadier Pond, Toronto<\/div>\n
Danger: Would the ice support 64 curling jteams<\/div>\n
with their stones?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE  GRAND  MATCH, HIGH PARK CRLING CLUB, 1993<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The telephone  rang  as the winter wind blew.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHi, Alan, I have an adventure for you.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGreat Brad, spill it out.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Brad  Schneller was almost breathless\u2026excited.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get a curling team together for the Grand Match\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat Grand  Match?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe HighPark Curling  Club is 80 years old  this winter\u2026planning a<\/div>\n
special competition on Grenadier Pond\u2026let\u2019s enter a team.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDid you say the Grand Match would be on Grenadier Pond?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow many teams?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201c64 Curling Teams\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of people on ice that could be  thin.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLucky this is a bad winter\u2026I figure there will be more<\/div>\n
than 300 people out on the ice when pipers and Fort York guards are included.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRemember what happened  to the Grenadiers in 1812?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure that really happened, Alan\u2026the drowning of the Grenadiers is a myth I think.\u201d’<\/div>\n
\u201cAccording to the story the soldiers were retreating from Fort York hauling their cannons<\/div>\n
with them\u2026that\u2019s a lot of weight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAbout as  much as 300 curlers?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you do a dive last summer to see if there were cannons at the bottom of the pond?<\/div>\n
\u201cWe did\u2026a CBC radio story\u2026Kevin and Andy did the diving while Christopher Thomas  and<\/div>\n
I were in a rowboat.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell\u2026the result?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAndy reported  \u2018Dad, I  shoved my arm deep  in the mud at the bottom\u2026right up to my elbow\u2026no cannons yet.\u201d<\/div>\n
It was  a  stupid idea.  Dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf we all break through the ice\u2026there will be a lot of curling stones down there<\/div>\n
for future divers.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIce collapse  is Not likely this year\u2026been dreadfully cold winter\u2026ice  as thick and tough as old concrete.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd now a snowstorm is coming.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNothing stops the bagpipes so we should not feel intimidated\u2026let\u2019s throw some rocks\u2026find<\/div>\n
a team willing to play.  A lot of people trying to clean the ice with their brooms\u2026<\/div>\n
sort of hopeless  for real curling.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cSuppose we  get Mike Dent to lie down and  use him and his coonskin  coat as a sweeping  machine.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou grab his feet, I\u2019ll grab his arms\u2026now walk \u2026 see  we are clearing a sheet.  How do you feel Mike?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust keep my coonskin closed\u2026otherwise  I will turn into a block of ice.  Pull\u2026pull.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny help with the game?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot much\u2026snow keeps  coming.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThrow your rock, Brad.\u201d’<\/div>\n
\u201cJust throw, forget about the fine tuning\u2026most rocks do not even get to the other end.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s refine the game\u2026forget about accuracy\u2026see how brute strength works\u2026wind  up with<\/div>\n
a big back swing and then rifle the rock down the ice.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSee who can throw the rock the farthest\u2026forget about real curling.”<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen the rock  hits the ice, it echoes.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHits like a cannonball.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet go, Mike\u2026let go!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHoly Samoley, Mike did not let go and threw the rock with all his might\u2026he flew with the<\/div>\n
rock\u2026parallel  to the ice.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHere come Ed  Werench\u2026top curler of 1993\u2026looks sceptical\u2026not exactly optimum conditions\u2026he wans<\/div>\n
to meet the so called ice maker.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThis is turning into a wonderful afternoon\u2026a real  celebration for the High  Park Curling Club\u2026<\/div>\n
an event that I wish we could duplicate each year.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201ci think the insurance companies would put an end to that idea.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cHey, Al,where did you get your curling clothes?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBearskin coat  I bought for $10 at a farm auction\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd the hat?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA Russian field hat from the Afghan war\u2026sent from Slovakia by<\/div>\n
our son Kevin.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd  your coat, Brad?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSandra\u2019s historic  beaverskin coat\u2026expensive.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMakes us look like drifters from the Great Depression.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And so the day wore on.  Cold, snowstorm, hopeless for real curling but so<\/div>\n
memorable \u2026 so memorable that even now, 27 years later I remember the <\/div>\n
day clearly.  Who dreamt up the idea? Well, I think Al White from the HPC<\/div>\n
was one of the prime movers but there were so  many others.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
 <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A\"A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

(PICTURES COURTESY OF BRAD  SCHNELLER)<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
oct 2020<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n


<\/p>\n

HISTORY OF THE HIGH PARK CURLING CLUM<\/p>\n

Land for the club was purchased in 1910 by the club\u2019s first president and chief financial backer, W.R. Prittie. The building, erected in 1911, was designed by architects Gemmell and W.R. Gregg and modeled after another Toronto club, the Queen City Curling Club. Today, the exterior looks very much as it did then. Facing east to west, the street fa\u00e7ade is an unobtrusive red brick and on the west side a spectacular two-storey verandah overlooks the lawn tennis courts (formerly lawn bowling greens).

The High Park Curling and Lawn Bowling Club\u2019s Inaugural Ball was held on the rink floor on December 15, 1911. In the early years, the club offered curling, lawn bowling, skating, indoor baseball, billiards, and cards. The new Club\u2019s first few seasons were quite successful but with the outbreak of WWI in 1914 and the mild winters in 1916 and 1917 limiting the natural ice for curling, the club\u2019s membership sagged and the club went bankrupt in 1917. It re-opened in 1918 as the High Park Club Limited with a new board of directors and a new charter.

HPC became the social centre for the whole community, with the vast majority of its members living within a 10-minute walk of the club. In the 1910\u2019s and early \u201820\u2019s, it was customary for members to visit the club in the evening and play cards. HPC was the centre for some of the best bridge played in Canada with numerous championship trophies to its credit.

Until 1919, women could not be members but wives of members had some privileges. In 1986, Anne Craig became the first female President of the High Park Club. 

From its start in 1912, lawn bowling was the principal sport at HPC, with bowlers frequently outnumbering the curlers. The Club\u2019s sweeping verandah provided an ideal spot for watching lawn bowlers in action. Spectators watched players dressed in whites on 16 greens surrounded by climbing roses, lilacs, chestnuts, and gardens with multi-coloured flowers, shrubs and trees. As a result of the rise in popularity of golf and cottaging in the late 1970\u2019s and early 1980\u2019s, membership in the section declined and the bowling greens were converted to lawn tennis courts.

Started in 1984, the tennis section of HPC boasts a unique feature \u2013 the only club-owned grass courts in Ontario. Tennis professionals have been known to grace its courts in preparation for the Wimbledon Championship (the oldest tennis tournament in the world).

Curling has been the other dominant sport at HPC and continues to be so today. At the club\u2019s inception, it was a very different version of the game than what is played today. Along with their straw brooms, each player was responsible for their own rock and for $1 a year it could be stored in a wooden locker placed along the walls of the rink. In 1939, 41 pairs of stones, weighing 41.5 lbs each, and with black or white handles, were purchased for $36 per pair. The first sets of stones were lost when a German torpedo hit the Athenia, the ship carrying them. Their replacements arrived in time for the following season.

Artificial curling ice was installed in 1926, thus ending both the indoor softball league and public skating. Today, the only skating that takes place is at the end of the curling season party held in May. In celebration of the club\u2019s 80th Anniversary in 1993, the Grand Match took place on nearby High Park\u2019s Grenadier Pond and drew 64 teams from across the GTA. High Park Club curlers have excelled at their sport and the trophy cabinet is full of cups and plates won over the past century.

Until the mid-60\u2019s, the club was managed by committees and the day-to-day needs were taken care of by the club\u2019s steward or caretaker who lived in a private apartment with its own entrance on the north side of the club. 

Today, there is a full-time manager, icemaker and a part-time ice, lawn and catering staff that ensure the club runs smoothly and efficiently. Volunteerism continues to be a core tenet of the club\u2019s culture, with over 1 in 7 members contributing time and efforts to committees, events, maintenance, decorating, and governance<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  EPISODE 155     THE  GRAND MATCH OF CURLING\u2026ON THE ICE BENEATH WHICH THE GRENADIERS WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE DROWNED THE Schneller Team entry in the High Park Curling  Club GRAND MATCH 1993 celebrating  80 years of fine curling.  Left to right:  Mike Dent, Alan Skeoch, Dave Snyder ,  Brad Schneller (skip).   alan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}