TIMMINS - Every once in a while myself or other members of the Timmins Sports Heritage Hall of Fame (TSHHF) board receive information about historical people, events, teams etc. I am amazed at how kind and generous people are in sharing their collection or documentation of local sports history.
It is one of the few ways we can garner and maintain the community's rich sporting history. I've always said we are at a disadvantage when it comes to a sports hall of fame as we are many years behind other communities. Years ago, I came across an article relating a story of how a group of individuals were hard at work trying to create a sports hall of fame for Timmins. It was from the 1970s. The hurdles that were presented were too much for that group to overcome and an excellent concept championed by an equally excellent group was set aside. There were many conversations about a hall but little traction was ever gained.
Over 30 years after the original exploration of a hall of fame, Wayne Bozzer and a group of locals began the process which turned into the TSHHF. That became a reality well into the 2000s. Gathering information for the hall has been made all the more difficult as a result of late start. There are many sports historians who regularly share stories on the hall's Facebook page.
One of the more poignant pieces of local hockey history to come our way was a project I can only describe as a legacy. A rich and extremely thorough collection of data, pictures and written history about the pipeline of players from northeastern Ontario to the NHL. The vast collection was donated by the family of Paul Bertils, who died in January, for us to preserve, maintain and share. It is a fascinating piece of immaculate research, display and passionate effort that is unrivalled in it's scope. It was originally put together for a book. And what a book it would have been.
But the basis for the proposed book is now part of the TSHHF's inventory. The hall looks forward to sharing this legacy project with the public in the near future.
A little more on this story can be found on the sports hall's Facebook page.
The hall is ecstatic that the Bertils family has entrusted it with this wonderfully historic legacy project.
Through projects like Paul Bertils, Richard Buell's books, other books and the continued sharing of sports history by contributors to the TSHHF's Facebook page, the group is able to keep the conversation going and keeping our iconic sport's history vibrant and alive for all generations to share.
Speaking of sharing, here's a quick update on some locals playing abroad. Evan Boucher is playing in Finland this season with Roki. Evan has missed a big chunk of the early season due to an injury but is back in the lineup now.
Derek Seguin is back with GIJS Groningen in Netherlands 2 where he leads the team in scoring.
Josh Siembida is coaching KHL Sisak in the ALPS Hockey League in Europe in close proximity to his brother-in-law Mark Katic, who is once again with VSV EC .
Later skater.
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