A recognition 69 years in the making
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- Published on Thursday, March 3, 2016
Photo courtesy Neepawa Press archives. (From left) Don Montgomery, Reg Freeman, Doug Kitson and Keith Sinclair were on the front page of the Neepawa Press in 1947 for winning the Manitoba School Boys Championship and the right to represent Manitoba at the national championship.
By Kira Paterson
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
On Feb. 16, the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame and Museum (MCHFM) announced its inductees for 2016. Among those honoured was Don Montgomery’s team from Franklin that won the first Manitoba School Boys Championship and the first Canadian Junior Championship, which was originally the Victor Sifton Trophy, in 1947. The team consisted of Montgomery, Reg Freeman, Doug Kitson and Keith Sinclair. All four of them were 15 years old or younger when they won.
Montgomery came from a family of curlers. His parents, Evelyn and Norman both curled, along with his brother, Barrie. His wife, Dona also curled, and they passed their love of the sport down to his children, Dwight, Brenda Miller and Lori Levandoski.
Montgomery didn’t curl very much after his high school years. Dona said that people “accused him of not wanting to lose his glory from winning the high school (championships), so that’s why he quit.” He curled for a few years in Franklin, but stopped for the most part after he and Dona moved. He did occasionally play with his brother, father and friend, Nelson Dagg, in Neepawa bonspiels, though. His daughters said that he had to quit because he had too many chores to do and he wanted more time to spend with his family.
Miller and Levandoski said that they are very proud of his success and they “wished he could’ve been inducted years ago when he could have enjoyed it with his fellow curlers.” They said that he was always very proud of his accomplishments. Dona will be attending the induction banquet in May to represent her husband, who passed away in January of 2015, and Levandoski said she and Miller will probably attend as well.
Reg Freeman spent the first 25 years of his life in Franklin. His parents curled before him and he was an avid curler in Franklin and Neepawa during his whole time here. “Everybody in Franklin curled in those days, even the dogs in town” he said with a laugh. Along with the championships that he is being recognized for by the Curling Hall of Fame, he competed in many Neepawa High School bonspiels and won quite a few of those in 1949. In 1957, he moved to Edmonton and continued to curl there. Although his two daughters don’t curl, his wife, Marjorie, was also a curler and they played for many years.
Now, Freeman said he and his wife have traded in their curling shoes for dancing shoes. They don’t curl anymore, but he said the sport was always a big part of their life and he always enjoyed it.
He said that the induction was “a pleasant surprise,” and that he is “just extremely happy about this happening.” The president of MCHFM had said that it was long overdue, but Freeman said that he and his team were just lucky that the people on the nomination board found out about them. He was in Winnipeg on Feb. 16 for the media announcement and he will be back for the induction banquet in May.
Doug Kitson spent the vast majority of his years in the Franklin area. He left for about seven years, working for the RCMP, but returned to Franklin and spent the rest of his life there. Kitson was only 14 years old when the team won the Canadian Junior Championship.
Throughout his life, he curled in several different clubs in the area, including Minnedosa, Franklin and Neepawa. His wife, Joan, and their children did curl a bit also, but it was more just for the fun of it.
Joan said that the family is pleased and it’s an honor that the team is going to be in the Hall of Fame, but she said they’re sorry it didn’t happen sooner so that Doug and Don could have been there.
Joan and their daughter and three sons still reside in Neepawa and the surrounding area. Kitson passed away in July of 2000, but Joan was at the induction announcement to represent her husband.
Keith Sinclair is currently living in Winnipeg with his wife. He lived in Franklin until he was 17, when he went to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). His job with CPR took him to many different places, but he still curled wherever he was. He has played in Minnedosa, Moosejaw, Kenora and everywhere else he moved to with CPR. He settled in Winnipeg in 1993 and has been there since.
He said that his parents did curl, but he mostly taught himself the sport because, back in those days, “we thought we knew everything,” he joked. After he and his wife got married, they also curled together.
He said that getting inducted was a long time coming. “That didn’t matter to me, though,” he added. “But it was nice.”
Sinclair’s brother, Bob, was the fifth, or alternate member of their team back then.
It was 69 years ago, but the team will finally be recognized for their achievements in the world of curling. Not only was their win significant because of their young ages, but it was also the inaugural competition for both championships. The induction banquet will be held on May 1, 2016 in Winnipeg.
