There has long been a debate over which sport is Canada’s official game, hockey or lacrosse. However, for millions of Canadians, the quintessential Canadian sport is curling.
There is also a centuries-old argument as to where curling originated. Some continental European countries such as Austria and the Netherlands claim the honour. But that’s nonsense as far as Scotland is concerned. Every good Scot knows that Scotland invented curling and then exported it to the world.
Two of Scotland’s greatest writers, Sir Walter Scott and Robbie Burns, said curling was “a manly sport.” And what place outside Scotland is more Scottish than Fergus, – host of the annual Highland Games!
Fergus has the distinction of being the home of the oldest continuous curling club in Ontario. It dates back to 1834.
The Royal Curling Club in Kingston was established in 1820, but according to curling historian Doug Clark, author of The Roaring Game: A Sweeping Saga of Curling, there was an interruption in that club’s continuity. Elora didn’t get a curling club until five years after Fergus, but then the two communities quickly became rivals.
The early Fergus curlers were a resourceful lot. They made their “stones” out of wood. Those wooden stones were of such good quality that they were exported to other Ontario communities. Some even found their way to the United States.
The Fergus curlers played their first game on the street in front of Hugh Black’s tavern, which meant they could pop in for a warming dram to fight the winter cold. Later the curlers played on the “Washing Green” (where sheep were washed) of the Grand River behind what later became Melville United Church, and then on the Beaver Meadow behind St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Eventually they had an indoor facility.
Black was the club’s first president, but after a year town founder Adam Fergusson was made president for life. It was a male-only club, and potential new members had to be sponsored by someone who already belonged. A court of initiation was held, and if the application was approved the initiate learned a secret password and handshake. He had to swear to abide by a code of conduct that prohibited the use of profanity on the ice. There was a fine for swearing. Women began curling in the mid-1930s, and in 1954 they organized a Ladies Curling Club.
The pioneering curlers had to provide their own stones, brooms and shovels. Anyone who couldn’t pay his club dues in cash could make his payment in liquor, a common form of currency in those days. At one time, it was considered unsportsmanlike to knock out an opponent’s rock. That was considered a sign that a person couldn’t play the game and draw like a real curler. There usually was no prize for winning a game, aside from bragging rights. However, the losers had to pay for the traditional post-game meal of “beef and greens” at the tavern.
On New Year’s Day of 1847 there was a bonspiel between the Auld Kirk (St. Andrew’s Presbyterian) and the Free Kirk (Melville United). The prize was a barrel of oatmeal that was to be distributed among the poor, with the loser covering the cost.
Over the years The Fergus Curling Club had its share of memorable characters. One was William Weems, a shepherd from the Scottish Highlands noted for his long beard and tartan. After winning a match he said in his victory speech, “There’s nae game like curling. It’s an honest sensible game. It’s an honest couthie game is curling, that we Kirk folk are a better for taking a spiel at whiles. And foreby there’s muckle o’ life to learn frae it.”
That night on his way home, Weems was accidentally struck by a sleigh and died from his injuries.
Another was J. “Stubby” Graham, who was one of the eight who won the coveted symbol of curling supremacy, the Ontario Tankard Tapestry, for Fergus in 1899. (Fergus also won the Ontario Curling Association’s District Cup in 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932.) Stubby was still curling in 1939 at the age of 86, and was known in Fergus as “Mr. Curling.” In a tournament in January of that year he threw the first rock to mark the club’s 125th anniversary.
In 1939 the Fergus Curling Club also became the first to publish a magazine exclusively about curling. Editor Tim Forrester, the club’s publicity director, wrote “an exciting account about curling,” (said the Guelph Mercury), “and takes the odd swing at things that are wrong with the club and club members.” Canadian curling guru Doug Maxwell gave the magazine a positive review on his radio show.
In 1976 the old Fergus arena was one of several condemned by the Ontario government. A new building that houses four sheets was constructed in a new location and was officially opened in January of 1977. The Fergus Curling Club owns a curling stone that dates back to 1835 and a set of stones that once belonged to Stubby Graham.
