A long history of Curling in Southampton

While Port Elgin (Saugeen Shores) is in the middle of the Port Elgin Chrysler ’22 Ontario Tankard presented by Bruce Power that will see the winner move on to the famous Tim Horton’s Brier, Southampton also has a long history of curling for more than 150 years.

 

The first curling facility in town was built in about 1870 and had three sheets of ice. It was situated on Victoria St. where the current Fire hall is located today and, in 1896, the Southampton Curling Club became a member of the Ontario Curling Association.

In 1916, the Victoria Street building was condemned and it was demolished in 1923 but curling carried on at an ice skating rink until 1927 when a two-sheet curling club was built on the north side of the Southampton Hockey Arena. 

Women didn’t begin curling at the Club until 1956 and one year later they travelled by train to a bonspiel in Mildmay, taking with them their curling stones in wooden boxes.

Four years later, in 1960, artificial ice was installed but, in the early 1970s, the curling club and arena were once again condemned.  Just two years later a new Southampton Coliseum was constructed and Curling Club members raised the funds to add a Curling Annex with four sheets of ice. 

The early Club members included those whose family names are still recognized in Southampton today:

  • W. J. Knowles   &   Bill Knowles
  • Donald “Brock” MacAulay
  • John McVittie   &   George McVittie   &   Roy McVittie
  • John “Moose” McIver   &   Irving McIver
  • E. L. Buckley   &   Norma Buckley
  • A. C. “Hungry” Huber
  • Nathan Doran
  • W. J. Burns
  • Allen Eby
  • Charles “Chas” Brown
  • Linc Doll
  • Fred Mason
  • Chas Cunningham
  • Bob Berry

Perhaps Southampton’s most famous curler was Donald “Brock” MacAulay who got his nickname from General Brock because he was considered the ‘leader’ of curling in Southampton.

In 1917, the team of MacAulay, John ‘Moose’ McIver, Alton “Dad” Huber and Bill Cameron won the Dominion Championships in Winnipeg. The prizes were car robes, table lamps, diamond stick pins and silver trays. When they arrived back in Southampton, a celebration was held when they arrived by train and were paraded up the main High street.

In 1904, the team was known to have curled 25 consecutive hours to win the Glen Trophy. This trophy was a challenge cup contested throughout Ontario and this team defended it nine times in one year.

In 1940, Brock MacAulay was made a life member of the Ontario Curling Association, a significant recognition as there were fewer than 50 life members in the province at the time.

In the days of MacAulay, curlers were sailors, fishermen or merchants wearing suits, ties and scotch tams. Curling membership fees were $5.00 and for many the curling club was a second home and bonspiels lasted for days. Curlers owned a pair of curling stones, which were of various sizes and weights, and were carried to and from the rink in a wooden box. While the game was in progress, the boxes were used as on-ice seats for spectators.

In 1927, the weight of curling stones was standardized to not more than 47½ lbs. which was a compromise to allow Brock MacAulay of Southampton to use his own rocks during a spiel in Winnipeg.

Southampton has a long, proud and varied curling history and the Club today continues to welcome new members to a variety of leagues including a Sturling (two-person) league in which sweeping is only allowed from the hog line into the house; a women’s league; Competitive; mixed leagues and Doubles curling (as seen at the Olympics).