Timmins is playing host to the 2023 U18 Canadian Curling Championships this week. This week we look back on curling in the community as well as the renowned McIntyre arena.
Curling has been in our blood for over 100 years. When we look back through our history, we can enjoy the activity that surrounded the various curling clubs and rink across the townships. In January of 1926, the Timmins Curling Club hosted the McIntyre Curling Cup competition for one week. The Porcupine Advance posted the winners on its front page.
Dec. 30, 1939, was the opening day of the McIntyre’s curling surfaces as well as the bowling alleys, gymnasium, and restaurant. The curling rink was described as the finest in the Porcupine and one of the best equipped to be found anywhere. There were six sheets of “silk-smooth artificial ice.” Attached to the curling rink was a large rotunda and lounge room. It was furnished with overstuffed chairs and lounge furnishings so that armchair curlers could sit at their leisure and watch a game from behind the glassed screen. Mr. J.P. Bickell, who was president of the McIntyre Porcupine Mine at the time, attended the opening event.
The opening event held many festive ceremonies. Once the building dedications were completed, Bickell led the group to the curling rink. There they donned Scottish tam o’shanters and hundreds of curlers mingled about. They marched around the rink with brooms over their shoulders and Mr. Ennis, the manager of the centre, and Bickell threw the first stones.
The Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre regularly provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins museum has to offer here and read more Remember This columns here.
