From the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre:
Skiing very quickly became a popular sport here. Ski clubs formed and competitions soon became popular events in the wintertime.
The ski chalets also became fun places to attend for social events – especially at Christmas time.
In 1941 at the Porcupine Ski Club, they decorated the chalet with decorations of spruce bows, tinsel and a Christmas tree. Members attended a supper after a Mr. Frank Dawson led skiers in a sing song of Christmas carols, old familiar songs, and two songs that he wrote himself.
One the songs was published in the Advanced and members were encouraged to clip out the lyrics and learn them so they would sing them frequently at the Chalet together.
The lyrics were:
New if you want a pace to tarry,
In a spot that’s fairly near,
Don your ski togs and let’s hurry
To our Club we hold so dear
Oh what fun there is together
Just to ski and sing and play
All because we’ve got the spirit
It’s the Porcupine Ski Club Way
The Porcupine’s our Ski Club
And we think its pretty swell
Now if you don’t agree with use
You can always go to – WELL
We just won’t say it now because
There’s skiing to be done
So there you are and here we are
To show you how it’s done
We’re down the hill and up the hill
And sometimes in a heap
We ski all day and play all night
And never think of sleep
If you think that you can beat us
You can always, always try
But we are not afraid because
We’re always riding high
Each week, the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins Museum has to offer at www.timminsmuseum.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.