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There are true hockey spirits in the Township of Woolwich

February 17, 2009 06:39 PM | Posted by   Cassie Campbell  

I’ve reached the halfway point of my Kraft Hockeyville 2009 tour. So far everything has been fantastic and I wouldn’t want to choose between any of the three communities that I’ve visited so far.

It’s really taken me back to the grassroots of hockey, which we sometimes forget about when we get to work in the NHL world or get to an Olympic level.

Over the weekend I spent time at the Elmira Arena. Elmira is one of 12 communities in the Township of Woolwich, Ont., which was voted as our third stop on the tour.

Each community so far has had something unique about it – whether it be the culture or the people or the children I have met. Something has always stood out in each community.

For Woolwich, there seemed to be a real sense of hockey spirit. (Now I don’t want to get too nostalgic on you, but there was definitely a light shining down on this community this past weekend).

As I walked into the Woolwich Memorial Centre, which is the new building that will eventually replace the old arena, there was a real sense of spirituality that came over me. The new arena honours three wonderful people. Three people I never had the chance to meet, but who, after spending time with their family and friends over the weekend, I felt like I’d actually known my entire life.

Jim McLeod was the former trainer for the National Sledge Hockey Team and a big part of their gold medal success in 2006 in Turin, Italy. He also was the trainer for the Junior B Elmira Sugar Kings. He unfortunately succumbed to cancer in March 2007 and I was told he did everything in the community for hockey and the people. The word generosity was often mentioned in the same sentence as Jim’s name. One ice pad in the new arena will bear his name and it will be sledge hockey friendly with appropriate boards and entrances to the ice surface for the players.

Dawn Farr was a woman who lost her life in a car accident in 2005 and after her death an anonymous donation was made in her name for $250,000, all of which went toward the new $5.6-million facility. The fitness walking path that is located above the main ice pad will have her name attached to it. I never met Dawn, but after speaking to many people I got the sense that she did so much for the community and the people within it. She seemed to be one of those kindred spirits who deserves to have such an honour bestowed upon her.

Dan Snyder is a name that many people in the hockey world know. Snyder lost his life in a tragic car accident in 2003. The accident was highly-publicized due to the fact that it involved two NHL players. When I arrived on Thursday night I had a care package in my room and inside the package was a book. It was called Small Town Hockey Boy – Memories of Dan Snyder and I immediately started to read it. When all was said and done it took me about 15 minutes to read and it was full of wonderful stories from Dan’s friends and family. They were stories that were sort of like “you kind of had to be there” to get them stories, but the book itself was so powerful to me.

I never had the pleasure to meet Dan, but after reading that book I felt like I had known him all my life. There was no question that he was a fun-loving guy who went over and above when it came to giving back to the people around him. In fact, I truly believe that his spirit is what pushed this town to apply for Kraft Hockeyville. The main ice pad in the new arena will be named after Dan.

Whether or not Woolwich wins this contest is truly not up to me, but I can say this - they have won already. The lesson I went home with after my experience in Woolwich was that we need to celebrate the people that touch everyone around them in a positive way. We’ve all had tough times to deal with and get through, but by celebrating the lives of three great people, this town has made it through the tough times together, and that has to mean much more than winning a contest.

Thanks for sharing your stories. It was an honour!

Special thanks to Steve Thomas as well for his time over the weekend. He has to be one of the nicest hockey people I’ve met and he was a pleasure to be around.

P.S. Thanks to the “CT girls” and you know who you are … hope you spent the change wisely. Stay giddy forever!

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