The first meeting to form the Middleton Curling Club was held on December 10, 1925. Attending this meeting were S.H. Morrison, J.D. McKenzie, C.M. Moore, N.W. Baker, J.E. Phinney, Renforth Elliott, Dr. J. Sponagle, Dr. K.P. Johnson, Rev. Miller and Rev. Walker. First President was J.D. McKenzie and the first Vice-President was Rev. Walker, with Dr. K.P. Johnson acting as Secretary-Treasurer and Rev. Miller as Chaplain. Following this meeting, arrangements were made with the Skating Rink Committee for the use of ice at that rink for curling two nights a week. Dues were set at that time at $5.00 per member and curling was carried on in the skating rink until the spring of 1930. On September 22, 1930, a special meeting was held, and at this meeting a contract for $2,300 was given to Mr. Charles B. Mosher to construct a new curling rink, which is now situated on King Street. From this time, until 1940, the membership was approximately 50, and curling was on natural ice. During this period, there were two trophies offered for competition; one for Juniors, donated by Mr. Fred Armour, and one for Seniors, donated by Loring Andrews. Each year clubs were invited from the Valley and the South Shore region, including Halifax, and Middleton was invited back for curling at their clubs. In the summer of 1940, the rink was turned into a Hostel for entertaining members of the Royal Air Force, while they were stationed at Greenwood Air Base during the war. In the fall of 1946, a committee was appointed to look into the cost of an artificial ice plant. It was found that the cost was $14,000, and the plant was installed in the fall of 1947 and financed by the sale of $100 non-interest-bearing bonds, with the agreement that five (5) bonds be drawn and paid for each year. It was during this year that the Ladies Curling Club was formed an curling started in November with an Opening Bonspiel called the "Apple Bonspiel" which ran for four days and was always a huge success.
Berwick lost their Curling Rink by fire and joined Middleton Club as curlers in 1949. Greenwood did not have a rink of their own at this time, and they also used the Middleton rink, every Saturday from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Since that time, both Berwick and Greenwood have acquired their own curling rinks. Improvements have been continually made to the Curling Rink and in the last several years the Club Rooms and Lounge were renovated. Membership in the club increases each year, and it is hoped that this trend will continue, .... 2 The next few pages contain excerpts from the By-Laws and information concerning activities and competitions that take place at the Middleton Curling Club during the season. It is hoped that this booklet will prove to be of some benefit to both new curlers and those who are presently associated with the Club. +81 Nov. 1, 1971 : ST
VIEW A COPY OF THE CLUB BYLAWS FROM 1933
Report on the culling of minutes for the annual meeting of May 18th, 2011 Since I am one of the long standing members of this club I was asked by Allen Morris if I would look through old minutes & throw out whatever was not useful. I had 3 boxes of them dating from the early 50's to 1998. I read through them all and picked out some interesting bits. There were some things that seemed to be recurring items all through the years. There was discussion on dues & late payment of same, scheduling of club curling & trying to accommodate everybody's wishes, contracts for delivery of oil,correspondence with the N.S. Branch over provincial bonspiels & other things, leaks in the roof, particularly in the dining area, lights for the ice shed, correspondence with the town over taxes & water rates to the point that using our own well for water was discussed. The installation of a smoke eater was also discussed for a lengthy period of time. It did get installed & helped some. Smoking was restricted in the ice shed in 1991/92 and smoking was prohibited in the 1993/94 season. Proper insurance coverage was discussed a lot over the years as well. Back in the 50's: At a meeting of Dec 12, 1951, it was moved & approved that the club purchase 25 sets of matched stones at an approximate price of $50/set, the cost of which would be met by an annual stone fee of $3.00 per member per year for 4 years, this fee to be paid by all members & future members. One had to apply for membership and be approved by the board back then. A maximum of 100 members was all they could accommodate. Berwick lost their club to fire and Greenwood had no club, so people from both of those communities curled at our club. There was a paid ice maker/caretaker back then too. Members of the clergy were given half price dues in the fifties. In 1966 the membership was 117 people & a cap of 125 was then declared. In 1986 we had a break-in at the bar. Also, that was the year we installed the concrete floor in the ice shed at a cost of $40,000. In 1988 heat was piped out to the ice shed at a cost of $2100. A new door was made from the plant room to the outside on the north wall and the bar was moved to its present location. In 1993 we sponsored a princess in the Heart of the Valley days. Interest in that waned after a few years. In 1998, discussion was started on replacing the dining area and the decision had been made that the best thing to do would be to dig a basement & put the change rooms downstairs & a banquet room above it. el Submitted by Jean Fry, May 18th, 2011.
