Sunday 18 December 2016

Sunday December 18th, 2016 Hurry Hard!



Thunder Bay Public Library has a variety of books on the sport of curling. Here is a sampling of some of them.

One book of local interest is A century of curling : 1887-1987, 100 years by the Port Arthur Curling & Athletic Club Inc. Though small in size, a lot is packed into this book. This publication starts in the early years of the curling club when they played on a small facility with natural ice, players brought their own stones, and standard games lasted 16 ends plus extras when needed. It continues through to the time of the inclusion of women, and tells of the rebuilding, upgrades and expansions of their facility. A century of curling reveals the many challenges there were keeping the club running through the lean times. It is illustrated throughout with pictures of players, teams, and other items. Included are stories on teams, bonspiels, fund raising and much more.

Another book looking at curling history locally is A history of the Fort William Curling Club, 1891-1949, and of the Fort William Curling and Athletic Club, 1949-. Though not at glamorously put together as the Port Arthur Curling book there is much inside this publication to make it worthy of a read. Starting off with Fort William curling that predates the club this publication chronologically explores the club, its various buildings, prominent members, non-curling sources of income for the club, charity fundraisers, etc. Some interesting non-curling historical information is interspersed in this document through mention of technological, social and economic changes that affected the club.

If you like trivia and odd facts, Curling Etcetera: A whole bunch of stuff about the roaring game by Bob Weeks contains stories, facts, quotes, and more dealing with curling trivia. A few examples of the trivial that lies within are: the origin and meaning of the name curling (from old Scottish word "curr" that refers to the roaring sounds the stones made as they slid over the frozen lochs), unusual curling rink locations (transformed ballroom of the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas), the outrage when Labatt tried to changing the Purple Heart crest when it took over the Brier sponsorship, and some background on Al Hackner's "The Shot".

For those new to curling or looking to start playing Bob Weeks has also written Curling For Dummies. It gives some background on the sport, explains how to play and the equipment needed to play. It goes through rules and terminology, the different kinds of curling shots, suggestions for practicing, and more.

For Canadian curling history be sure to check out Canada Curls : the illustrated history of curling in Canada by Doug Maxwell. This book starts from curling's origin in Scotland, explores curling’s introduction into Canada, examines the earliest curling clubs, and then continues on to cover modern times. The changes in rules and equipment over time are delved into. A greater part of the book explores in detail various championships: the establishment of the men's national championships known as the Brier, women's national championships, World Championships, Olympics plus other less known competitions. As you could guess by the book’s subtitle, plenty of illustrations are in the book with most pictures being players or teams but also some trophies and medals.

If your interest leans more towards books more biographical in nature there are a pair of books on Sandra Schmirler: Sandra Schmirler: The Queen of Curling by Perry Lefko, and Gold on Ice: The Story of the Sandra Schmirler Curling Team. Other biographies available include Throwing rocks at houses : my life in and out of curling by Colleen Jones with Perry Lefko and Hurry Hard: The Russ Howard Story by Russ Howard.

Will Scheibler

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