Nelson's Sports history now ready for display at Sports Council Museum
By Bruce Fuhr
Murray Owen, the Leaf sniper who struck fear into opposition goalies during the Western International Senior Hockey League days, is in the museum.
So are many hockey, lacrosse and baseball teams along with key individuals from yester-year.
And everything is now on display at the Nelson Sports Council Sports Museum in the Civic Centre and Nelson and District Community Complex Arena walkways.
“There are many, many people who have contributed (items) since 2007 to bring this about,” Bill McDonnell, one of the key contributors to the creation of the Sports Museum, told a crowd attending the official unveiling Friday in the Civic Centre Arena.
“I’ve been the fortunate one because I get to listen to the stories (associated with all this memorabilia).”
McDonnell was joined at the make shift podium by Nelson/Creston MLA Michelle Mungall and Kevin Cormack, representing the City of Nelson.
The idea for the museum came during the CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada, which Nelson hosted in 2007.
During a trip to Touchstones Nelson to see many of the sports items on display, McDonnell was issued a challenge by two people in the know — Peter Webster and Pete Quevillon.
Webster is the first manager of the Canadian National Ski Team when it trained at Notre Dame University in Nelson and a person also associated with the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in Vancouver while Quevillon is associated as a director with KidSport B.C.
“The two of them put out the challenge saying you cannot allow these items to go back into boxes and into basements,” McDonnell explained. “It should be shared with the community.”
So the idea spawned a recent collection of sports history housed in the concourse of the NDCC Arena.
Items in the Civic Centre Arena, now run by the Nelson Sports Council, are from the early years in Nelson sports history — including photos of the gala opening of the Civic Centre Arena in November of 1935.
The museum is open every Friday and Saturday until August 31 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday to Thursday, by appointment only by calling 250-352-3989.
On hand to assist tours is Nelsonite, Isaac Macleod, who just happens to be a member of Boston College, 2012 NCAA Division One Men’s Hockey Champs.
And is already part of the display after donating his Boston College jersey to the museum.
