Homebrew and otherwise hockey part of the Chapleau High School experience since the 1920s with plans underway to be part of the 2012 reunion

See names at bottom

Whenever I receive an email from Charlie Purich with "Excited" as the subject line, I know he is going to share something about hockey in Chapleau with me. 

Such was the case last week when Charlie emailed me with the news that the Chapleau High School 90th anniversary committee had given him the go-ahead to work on a hockey reunion as part of the activities for the reunion in 2012. It is all very tentative at the moment, but looking back at the history of Chapleau High School, hockey was an important part of life with school teams and of course the Huskies on which many students played. 

Back in 1929, just seven years after CHS opened, a writer in the school's magazine called 'High School News' wrote a column called "Homebrew and Otherwise" taking  those who ran junior hockey in Chapleau to task for importing players when there were local players available.

"Now with the beginning of this season, 1929-30, we find imported hockey players in town and we find about thirty town boys suitable (after a few weeks practice with a coach) for Junior hockey. Why there are so many imported boys in town nobody but the committee seems to know," the writer noted. I have had this article for many years, and believe it was written by Jim Morris, my father, or so I was told by the person who gave it to me.

The thirty players were juvenile age players who the writer says have been promised to the junior team, and if accepted, Chapleau would have a "Homebrew Junior Hockey team by the end of the season."

Meanwhile, with the (natural) ice already forming in the arena, the Juveniles, with a close connection to CHS, are "eagerly engaged" in selecting players for four teams. John McClellan, teacher, later the school's legendary principal coached juvenile hockey. The team captains, all CHS students at the time were W. Murphy, F. St. Amand, Gordon McKnight and Newt Pellow.

Playing on one of the Juvenile teams with Mr. McClellan as coach were Gordon McKnight, Jim Morris, Donald Robinson, Eric Young, William Moore, Bobby Perpete, C. McAdam, Joe Crichton and Romeo levesque.

The article concludes that it is hoped that by end of the season, Chapleau will have a "homebrew" junior hockey team. Sorry I can't tell you the result of their efforts in 1929-30, so will fast forward to the years when CHS had  a highly competitive team.

In the 1950s the school had a team that played in the town league and against outside competition, and by the early 1960s, the school yearbook was calling Charlie Purich 'the catalyst of the hockey team." By the way, Charlie's father, Jimmy Purich donated the first trophy to Chapleau Minor Hockey in 1953, and I have just recently received a photo of the winning team from Ken Schroeder, for a later day. Charlie's sister Pat (Purich) Russell lives in Chapleau.

After graduating from CHS, Charlie played for Laurentian University, and was a member of its 1966-67 Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship team.

David Futhey, Bruce Pellow, Darryl Downey

Darryl Downey, who played on CHS TEEM as it was called, wrote to advise that the team played in the Chapleau Mercantile Hockey League, noting that members of the Chapleau Huskies were on other teams -- mentioning Earle Freeborn, Tonto Pilon, Albert Tremblay, Gilles Boisvert plus "imports that joined up when they arrived to work in the banks, lumber companies, etc."

" I remember one time we went to play in Marathon and John Futhey Sr. got himself, David Futhey, and I a ride in the head end of a train that Eric Young was engineering.  What a blast!  Those were the days, my friend."

That trip would have been more than 30 years after Eric Young had been playing hockey in Chapleau on the Juvenile team. Eric, the younger brother of Dr. William Young and Dr. G.E. Young, excelled at many sports. 

After Highway 101 opened to Timmins in 1962, Chapleau began to play teams from the Porcupine area. 

Ted Swanson, Jack Boucher, Brian Corston, Larry Wright

When Dr. Karl Hackstetter returned as CHS principal in 1963, he became an ardent supporter of CHS TEEM, never missing a game, and going to the Redwood afterwards to celebrate victories. (I assume.)

After hearing Charlie's news about a hockey reunion as part of the CHS 90th anniversary reunion, I wanted to share a bit about high school hockey in the community. With the arrival of the Chapleau Junior "B" Huskies in 1966-67, high school hockey teams became part of Chapleau's history, as fans supported the team in the International Junior 'B' Hockey League, with over 90 percent of the players being "homebrew" throughout its history, and students at Chapleau High School. 

Before someone points it out to me, the homebrew teams changed a bit in their composition with the arrival of the Chapleau Intermediate 'A' Huskies in 1975, but that is a story for another day. 

I will keep you posted on the progress of the hockey reunion and just want to pass on that Charlie says local contacts are needed to make it happen. Email me at mj.morris@live.ca and I will pass it on.  As Darryl wrote, "Those were the days my friends," and what great stories will be told. Thanks to Charlie Purich, Darryl Downey and Lark Ritchie. 

NAMES FOR CHS TEEM... Thanks to Merrick Goldstein for help with names

 Here is the 1965 CHS TEEM.. Back from left: Peter Grey, John Babin, Jim Lapp, Richard Morin, Bruce Pellow, Jim St. Amand, David Stevens, Mike Tangie, J. Parker (coach), Brian Corston, Darryl Downey, Keith Corston, Merrick Goldstein. Kneeling: Larry Joyce, Albert Bignucolo, David Futhey, Reg Bouillon, Gerry Boucher, Ted Swanson. (Lark Ritchie photos)

Identify these three members of the ESCHS 1987 production of 'You'll Get Used To It'

Identify these three members of the 1987 ESCHS production of Peter Colley's play 'You'll Get Used To It ... The War Show'

Last week's answer.

The four players from The Chiefs hockey team attending ESCHS in 1982 were David Morrison, Andy Barsalou, Ron Martel, Todd Broomhead

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau High School 90th Anniversary Reunion: 'The binding that holds the town book together'

Members of CHS 60th Committee, Names below

I was telling my good friend Derik Hodgson about the Chapleau High School 90th anniversary reunion festival recently, and, as always, in the 46 years since we first met at the Kingston Whig-Standard as young reporters, he had a great line that summed it all up and caused me to reflect on the "town book" of Chapleau.

Derik, one of Canada's best investigative reporters of my generation, observed that people in cities, don't always understand what reunions at "old-tyme high schools mean to smaller centres....they are often the binding that holds the town book together."

What a great line, among the many that I have seen Derik write, and immediately I started to think about how CHS reunions are the binding that does hold the history of Chapleau together -- at least from 1922 on when the high school doors first opened.

A school reunion gives us something in common, memories of a shared experience before we were all growed up and headed off in different directions to lead our adult lives. The reunion brings us home again as part of the binding that holds the town book together.

Over the years, whenever two or three of us meet who attended CHS, invariably the conversation turns to school days and memories of the students, teachers and activities that made up so much of our high school life. Today we even have virtual meetings by email, or Skype, Twitter and Facebook, but come 2012 it will be the real thing, and once home, stories will be told and while much regret will be expressed over those who are no longer here, the emphasis will be on those things that bring folks together, centred on  life either at the "old" school on Pine Street or the "new" school on the hill.

It just struck me that the new school has now served the community longer than the old school, and many more students have attended it than ever went to the building on the banks of the river.

In my life I have been most fortunate to have attended CHS as a student and to have returned and taught there for almost 20 years. But in fact, like many of Chapleau's old families, my connection goes back almost to the beginning of the high school in Chapleau in 1922. For example my mother, Muriel E. (Hunt) Morris and her sister Elsie (Hunt) Zufelt were students there in the late 1920s while my father Jim Morris and some cousins attended in the 1930s, his sister Marion by 1940, and other cousins in the late 1940s early 1950s, then me,  and then more cousins through the years.  Our family history, perhaps like yours,  is tied in to the school.

When CHS celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1982, I wrote an article about the changes to the physical face of Chapleau that would have occurred since many who came home for the reunion would immediately notice.

It was called 'Yes Virginia, there is a Chapleau', and details Virginia's walk around town after an absence of 30 years. Here are some of the highlights from her walkabout. With apologies to the 'Virginia' in the Christmas classic, 'Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus'.

She noted that here it was the sixtieth anniversary of her school, and they had moved it "into the bush" and it was one of "those modern buildings all on one floor."

Virginia was especially concerned about where students drank their beer, for according to the old song "Give a shout, give a cheer for the boys who drink the beer in the cellars of old Chapleau High" and now there was no cellar.

The Lady Minto Hospital had disappeared and "they put the hospital out behind the high school. Am I ever glad they also built a new road to serve these buildings. When I was a kid there was nothing more than a trail. And sometimes it was impassable in the Spring".

She also noted the "new" Chapleau Civic Centre, Cedar Grove Lodge Chapleau, Recreation Complex, water plant, and of course the replacement of the horsehoe bridge with a new bridge and pedestrian overpass, among other changes. Yes, the physical face of Chapleau changed dramatically in the 1970s -- more than 30 years ago. And, of course there have been more changes since.

However, after her walkabout, 'Virginia' accepted that while the physical face of Chapleau changed, "... the greatest resource of Chapleau has always been its people. I look forward to seeing all my old friends, those who are still here and those who have come for the reunion. I am simply glad to be home where it all began for me", and I added, "Yes Virginia, there is a Chapleau. The physical face has changed, but not the hearts of the people."

I wrote Virginia's story almost 30 years ago now for the souvenir newspaper marking the CHS 60th reunion, and was living in Chapleau at the time and teaching at the high school. I have not changed my view one bit about the community and its people.

Let me go back to Derik Hodgson for a moment and give him the last word. At one time Derik worked for Canadian Press and came to know Lloyd 'Sparrow' McDonald, who was with CP for many years, born in Chapleau, graduated from Chapleau High School, served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Here is Derik's comment on one of Chapleau's greatest resources: "Lloyd McDonald. Legendary. Remember him working the rim at CP Toronto. Gruff. No nonsense and wonderful."

Small world. Thanks Derik for helping me share a bit about the binding that holds the town's book together! My email is mj.morris@live.ca

THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Members of the 60th CHS Reunion Committee in 1982 showing off reunion caps: Front from left Olive Warren, Margaret Rose Fortin, Frances Corston, Elaine Martel, Helen Delaney, Kathleen Broomhead, Marguerite Levesque. Back from left Tim Collins, Erik Collings, Alex Babin, Don McEachren, Terry Bryson