Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex
Grand Opening

By Ginger Collins

Saturday, April 24, 2010 brought one era to a close and set another journey on its course. Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex has had many open houses, some venues have been in operation for over a year and there still remains much work to do.

However, on this special night in April, we decided to hold a Grand Opening Ceremony and also were provided an opportunity to dedicate/name the arena after one of hockey's greats, John "Black Jack" Stewart.

For most of the approximately 400 participants, the evening began with a delicious chicken supper, prepared and served by Pilot Mound Minor Hockey parents and fans. Thanks to all of the community members who donated most of the wonderful food.

Curtis McCannell, acting as MC, welcomed everyone to the ceremony. We began with greetings from our dignitaries including Deputy Mayor, Jim Odlum, R.M. of Louise Councilor, Jim Cockerline, MLA, Cliff Cullen and MLA, Blaine Pedersen who also brought greetings on behalf of MP Candace Hoeppner.

Gord Arbuckle and Eileen Collins presided over the Dedication ceremony.

Gord had the pleasure of welcoming over 25 members of the John Stewart family, who traveled from various parts of Canada and the United States. In attendance were Johnny's two sisters, Arva and Mary B (Trixie), as well as John's son, Barclay and his daughter Asia from the Detroit area.

Gord questioned, "When we put someone's name on one of our community facilities, we also need to acknowledge that the name also represents our community, a piece of all of us, and does that name portray at least in part, who we are?"

Eileen and Gord provided the audience a brief but intense look at John, Black Jack Stewart, who he was and a long list of his accomplishments.

Eileen talked about Johnny, (most who knew him well, called him Johnny) and his many accomplishments in hockey and harness racing fame. He played his minor hockey here, and then played with the Portage Terriers. Then it was off to play with the Pittsburgh Hornets where, in mid season, at the age of 21, he moved to the Detroit Red Wings. "Black Jack established himself as a great career defenseman, winning two Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings and then played with the Chicago Black Hawks for 2 years."

Eileen states, "His nickname, Black Jack, may be out of deference to his darkly handsome features, or, from his tough, physical style of play, including crunching body checks and the unorthodox stick he used. A hockey player is quoted as saying "taking a hit from Stewart was like getting hit with a black jack". Johnny was named to the first ever, NHL All Star team in the 48/49 season. When his NHL career came to a close in 1952, he had racked up 115 points in 565 NHL games. In 1964 he was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, in 1985 to the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and in 1998 to the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

Eileen and Gord were able to look beyond the hockey star and talk about the "Man." He was the man who made sure his friend, Gerry, confined to a wheelchair, made it up and down the stairs at school. The man who never forgot his small town roots, being referred to by media as a "weed - bender from Pilot Mound, Manitoba."

Gord recalls meeting John, he was soft spoken and was a true gentleman. In hearing from those who knew John Stewart, he was a role model, "a man for all reasons; of great character and competence." His story sets the example for future generations of our community.

Gord and Eileen therefore: "Declared and proclaimed that from this time forward the Arena portion of this complex shall be known as the John, Black Jack Stewart Arena and asked that all citizens recognize and support this dedication."

John's son Barclay thanked the Town of Pilot Mound for the honour that has been bestowed on the Stewart Family with this dedication. He stated that the family was truly in awe at what Pilot Mound was able to accomplish in the construction of this truly amazing facility. He shared memories his father had shared with him about Pilot Mound and recalled that his father never forgot his roots and always considered himself lucky to have grown up in this rural community.

On behalf of the Stewart family, Barclay presented the community with a picture of his father. This picture, originally hung in the Pilot Mound Hotel, was rescued from the fire with considerable damage. The family had it restored and was pleased to have returned it to the community to be displayed at the Complex. Barclay also presented an original hockey sweater of his father's Detroit days which will also be displayed at the complex. The community was thrilled with the presentation and honoured to have the Stewart family in attendance.

Also attending the festivities were 5 executive members from the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Garry Cribbs, Chair-Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame addressed the crowd and expressed amazement at the community accomplishments in this fantastic facility. He also stated that the Hall of Fame will be providing shadow boxes to frame the John Stewart Picture and the Sweater presented that evening.

And.. If that wasn't enough, the evening progresses to include a presentation on "Our Story."

The goal of the committee was to capture the journey of the construction of the Complex and most importantly to pay tribute to the many volunteers who have worked over the past 10 years on the Complex. Gord, in his usual magnificent style and words, was able to convey just that.

Gord recalls the dreaming sessions, lots of things start with a dream. He recalls sitting around the table, the discovery of an abandoned building in Northern Manitoba, the thoughts that maybe history could repeat itself and we can move that building down to Pilot Mound. The Hockeyville video from 2006 portrayed that journey and was shared with the crowd. It can be viewed on the Pilot Mound website. It's a powerful 2 minutes, telling the story of the journey of the Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex.

Gord then invited the crowd to come inside the new complex. To look around.

He relates that "over the past ten or twelve years this project has created a million or so memories and stories." He talks about the complex being a people place, "so in this people place you can be any age and enjoy the space; you can play, you can laugh, or you can just sit and maybe think about the things that were, or maybe dream about the things yet to come." Gord talks about community spirit and what that feels like. "Reach out and touch something, touch a wall, touch the floor or the ceiling; touch this building anywhere and you'll put your fingerprints on the fingerprints of someone else from the community. Most everybody's fingerprints are here somewhere and there's more than that; there's a piece of the heart, and the soul, and of the sweat of all those same people. Maybe even a little blood and tears too."

What does community spirit look like? Representing the faces of our future, Jameason Currie and Graham Dobson weave through the darkened arena carrying a large metal ceremonial key. As they move about a spotlight follows them. Gord asks the crowd to stand and turn on the lights they were given during the night; they rise as Gord says: Would the Dreamers stand up; 40-Day Joe and the guys that went up north; How about the folks that laid and tied rebar; those that provided the coffee break goodies; the carpenters; the plumbers; the electricians; Norm and the Blockheads; all those that hung drywall, mudded and taped it; those that worked regular day jobs and came every evening to work for hours; those who participated and brought tickets to the over 250 fundraisers; those who voted for Hockeyville; the young people who have participated in events and played here; and finally anyone in attendance to make this such a special evening.

In the end all were standing, lights blinking; "Now, that's what community spirit looks like!!!"

Jameason, Graham and Gord presented the Ceremonial Key to the Board of Directors. The Key is a symbol of the occasion to be displayed prominently as a reminder of our history, our community spirit and our future; of the power of a dream and of the power of the human spirit.

Pat Sutherland accepted the key and expressed thanks to all who participated in this project.

As promised, it was a night packed with nostalgia and memories; a night to remember.

The Grand Opening Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who came and made this ceremony a success. Realizing we have much left to do and the journey continues; the official opening of the Complex will hold a special memory to all.

We also thank the Auction Committee for allowing us the opportunity to be included in your auction evening.

Frank Wilson Carries Olympic-Torch in Manitoba Relay

Frank Wilson was selected to carry the Olympic Torch in Winkler on January 7th by the Royal Canadian Legion Northwestern Ontario / Manitoba Command. The day proved to be bitterly cold, but true to the spirit of a World War II soldier and the man that he is, Frank endured. Hundreds of local supporters also braved the elements to cheer him on, including busloads of school students, and even though cameras froze up, several great pictures were snapped. The ones you see below were taken by Arnold Foidart of Pilot Mound.

PMMRC Volunteers Win 2009 Premier's Volunteer Service Award

The PMMRC Volunteers were nominated by the Pilot Mound & District Chamber of Commerce for the Volunteer Service Awards presented annually in Winnipeg. To the Chamber's delight, they will be awarded with the 2009 Premier's Volunteer Service Award during its banquet on April 22, 2009 at the Winnipeg Convention Center which will be attended by many members of the community.

Pilot Mound Team Wins Legion Title

Saturday Feb 28 2009
Reprinted with permission from Resby Coutts, TheCurler.Com

Curtis McCannell, Jackie McCannell, Ross Ballantine & Desmond Gould from Pilot Mound Legion Branch #62 are this year's Manitoba Legion Curling Champions. The Manitoba/NW Ontario Legion Provincial Curling Championship was played in Swan River last weekend. The McCannell team won the A side but lost the B final against Jeff Stewart and his Gladstone team (Craig Douglas, Dwight Ferguson & Jeff Mowat), then beat them in the A-B final. (The Legion champions are pictured l-r with (l) Gord Walker (1st Vice Pres. Prov. Royal Canadian Legion) and (r) Bob Boychuk (Pres. Swan Valley Legion))

The Legion Dominion Curling Championship in Maple Ridge, BC from March 14 - 20, 2009. The team was also the Manitoba/NW Ontario representative at the Legion Dominion Championship in Nova Scotia in 2007. Curtis has been to the Legion Provincial Championships 8 times, Jackie 7 times as well as 5 Scottie Provincial Championships, Ross 6 times and Desmond 3 times. Curtis has also won the ManDak Curling League 2 of the past 3 years.

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Fowler Team Wins Mondetta Senior Women's

Thursday Feb 26 2009
Reprinted with permission from Resby Coutts, TheCurler.Com

It took the shot of the week - maybe the year but Lois Fowler and her team of Gwen Wooley, Lori Manning, and Lynn Sandercock have won the Mondetta Senior Women’s Curling Championship. Coming home tied, the four foot circle got congested with a pair of Linda Van Daele rocks counting, one in front, one behind the button. Fowler had two of her own frozen together in the side of the four foot. Her choice was a double double kill or a double raise on a pair of VanDaele rocks in the top 12 foot.

They were lined up on the Fowler stones and a big weight hit perfectly ran the Van Daele rock onto the Fowler stones and jammed one sideways to cover the pinhole. To set up the last end dramatics, the teams had traded mistakes on the 8th and 9th creating a 5-5 tie coming home. On the eighth end, Fowler had a chance to score a pair but was heavy on a last rock draw. She went up 5-4 but the mistake did not cost her as much as it might have. Fowler was able to force the ninth end. Van Daele hit facing two with her last rock to score one and come home tied without last rock.

With the win, Fowler adds to her collection of provincial championships while Manning, Wooley and Sandercock earn their first.