Druid’s curling rink was centre of activity

The following is a recollection of curling at Druid, Sask., which was published in “More Golden Milestones - History of Dodsland, Druid & District”.

The first curling rink at Druid, Sask. was built in 1919 and was the centre of activity until 1953, when it was replaced by a ‘new’ curling rink. It was situated east of the well, and the dugout was behind it. An oval outdoor skating rink with wooden boards all around was situated to the south. Hours of skating fun were enjoyed on that ice and the dugout by kids of all ages. Many competitive bonspiels were held in that little curling rink, the Druid Memorial and the slap of old straw brooms was heard on the ice.

Jimmy Drummond, Carroll Drummond, John Colquhoun and Gordon Horysh curled at the Druid curling rink. Photo from More Golden Milestones

Inside of the old curling rink - curled the middle sheet (skating around perimeter) - bonspiels used three sheets. Photo from More Golden Milestones

The waiting room had wooden bleachers and, at times, was filled to capacity with interested on-lookers. Homemade meals, coffee, soup, donuts and homemade pie were always on the menu and served by the local women who volunteered at the curved counter.

The schoolchildren could hardly wait for bonspiel week as the teachers would allow them to go to the rink for lunch. It would not be unusual to see one of the school kids filling in to make up a rink for the locals, even though sometimes it would take two feet in the hack to get the rock to the other end.

The flooding of the ice was quite a chore, and the cleaning depended a lot on the temperature outside as to how much it was dripping or just how much frost was accumulating.

The rink continued to be a special place of enjoyment during the winter months for quite a few years, but as all things come to an end, so did the rink in Druid. With fewer people and a much newer facility in Dodsland, the final flood was inevitable.