Exchange History

In 1917, four gentlemen curlers, two from the old Waterloo Curling Club and two from Kitchener, travelled by horse-drawn cutter and train to curl in Detroit. It turned out to be a two-week trip because they made several side stops before ending up at the Detroit Curling Club.

The event was such a success that the cross-border clubs reunited in Kitchener later in the year for another weekend of fellowship and curling.

It became an annual exchange that has survived two world wars and the Depression. On St. Patrick’s Day weekend of 2007, they celebrated their 90th anniversary at the KW Granite club at the old Rink in the Park in Waterloo .

“Historical information regarding the (initial) exchange, unfortunately, has not been put into printed form, so what part is rumour and what part is history is somewhat difficult to ascertain,” said Ron Shane, a K-W Granite Club curler who has been attending these events since 1979.

“The late Doug White, a staunch member of the club and exchange, recorded some information, but even his notes are not extensive.”

It is believed that originally, local members actually carried their own rocks (weighing 42 pounds each) to curl in Detroit .

Travelling back and forth was done for many years by railway, which kept the fellowship strong. When train travel became difficult to arrange and expensive, the group from Kitchener and Waterloo hired a bus. However, this, too, turned costly.

Both groups now make the trip by car. They meet in Detroit in November, and here in Kitchener- Waterloo in March.

There is a trophy — in fact, there are two trophies.

The first, donated by Anne Scherer in memory of her husband, Vince, a longtime promoter of the exchange, disappeared for a few years until it was resurrected from the basement of a Detroit curler.

Bob MacMillan, a K-W Granite Club curler and owner of the Heidelberg Hotel, where the curlers gather for food and fun when they are not on the ice, donated another trophy in the interim.

The local curlers won the recent event, but it’s a friendly rivalry.

“There are no losers, only winners in this grand exchange, and the record of who prevailed in the scores is conveniently lost in the mists of time,” said Ron . “The important thing is the friendships formed.”

Bob Mooney, agreed, “It has been a wonderful experience.”

As a salesperson, he was often in Windsor and would cross the border for a golf or ball game with his curling friends.

 

Bombay Bicycle Club Trophy Winners

The Bombay Bicycle Club trophy is awarded at each end of the exchange to the person telling the best joke of the weekend.
It is named in honour of Jack Blamey, who used to tell the story of the Bombay Bicycle Club.
Here is the list of the winners since 1998:

1998 K    Cec Brodeur             “Archibald Assolebroke”
1998 D    Bob MacMillan        “Hey lady does this look like yours”
1999 K    Marty Sokolowski  “Show him your cross”
1999 D    Doug White               “Story telling excellence”
2000 K    Harry Wylie               “Spitting in the shoes”
2000 K    Ken Zryd                     “That much ice cream”
2001 K    Marty Verhoeven     “EARS”
2001 K    Don Fanstone            “Acute Angina”
2002 D    Brady Code                “How do you turn it off”
2003 D    Ken Zryd                      “Its an hour fast”
2004 D    Dave Grudzinski       “Not in this house”
2005 K    Bill Hallsband            “Parkinson’s”
2005 D    Scott Anderson         “Get off the train”
2006 K    Don Fanstone             “Son in law”
2006 D    Bob Glendenning      “Speeding”
2007 K     Ed Bergman                “Strawberries”
2007 D    David Nelsen                “His Foster Brooks impression”
2008 K    Ian Anderson                “Maple Leafs”
2008 D    Patrick Rouan               “Stick it in his ear”
2009 K    Bob MacMillan             “Scones for the funeral”
2010 K    Les Houston                  “Voodoo Vibrator”
2010 D    Ken Zryd                         “12345you78”
2011 K    Rick Harrison                “don’t look down”
2011 D    Bill Hume                        “Breathalyzer”
2012 K    Cec Hofstetter               “Crap in the box”
2013 K    Keith McKenzie            “Rubber on the end”
2013 D    Dave Nelsen/ John Danckaert   “Ajax liquor store”
2014 K    Paul Gaines                   “My sister won”
2015 K    Mike Rogala                  “Irish Circumcision”
2015 D    Ken Zryd                        “Lobsters”
2016 K    Paul Gaines                  “No head”
2016 D    Don Fanstone              “Old lady with Bicycle”
2017-100K  Pat Cannon             “Carol’s”
2017-100D  Bill Morris, Jim Morris, Damien Buchkowski
                        Larry Aubuchon, Paul Gaines   “The Men Song”
2018 K    Ken Zryd                           “A T R”
2018 D    Damien Buchkowski  “ Asparagus”
2019 K    Cec Hofstetter               “Golf on New Years day”
2019D    Paul Gaines                     “Test results back yet”

Here is pdf document listing the above winners: Bombay Bicycle Winners

 

Curling Songs

The following songs were from 2 sheets of paper that had been copied many times. Thanks to Frank Duffey for providing them.

 

Old Detroit Free Press material

David Sgriccia of the Detroit Curling Club has done some research and found a number of articles in the Detroit Free Press.
Go to this link windsor.sgriccia.net and click on kwexchange to see the articles.