Last weekend 14 teams of women curlers took to the ice in the annual Bonspiel at the Drumheller Curling Club. While this is a tradition that spans generations, the club learned just how far it goes back, and began a new tradition.
   Kelly Eddy is a dedicated volunteer for the Drumheller Curling Club, and this year at the arena, she stumbled on an interesting piece of Drumheller history.
 Collecting dust behind the bar was the “Drumheller Ladies Curling Club Trophy. It is a simple metallic trophy with a turned wooden base. It has a brass colored plaque with the Canadian Bank of Commerce logo, presumably the sponsor of the trophy. On the base are three plaques with winners names dating back to the 1930’s.
    Curiosity led Eddy to do a little more research, and she contacted the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).  She received a response from the company.
    Eddy learned the logo was the company’s original emblem.
    “In the centre is a caduceus, a mythological symbol often mistakenly used to represent the field of medicine. The caduceus is an ancient Egyptian symbol that is associated with Mercury (Hermes), the god of commerce. The rod represents power, the serpents represent wisdom and the two wings represent diligence and activity,” stated the response from CIBC.
    This logo was not used much after World War II leading her to believe the trophy was likely from the 1930’s.
    The Drumheller branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce opened on December 18, 1918, however one of its predecessor banks was doing business from the beginning. The Standard Bank of Canada opened for business in October of 1913. Through mergers, the company became known as the CIBC in 1961.
    “This trophy was likely given to the Drumheller Curling Club by the local branch of The Canadian Bank of Commerce. It was common practice for banks to sponsor trophies and prizes at a variety of local sporting events and agricultural fairs,” state the CIBC response about the trophy.
    For Eddy this is a treasure and it took about four buffings to get it back into shape.
    She wants to learn more about the trophy, and the next clue she is to explore is the four plaques on the base with the names of some of the winners.
    One undated plaque has the names Mrs. Rosaine, Mrs. Jamieson, Mrs. Olsen and Mrs. Taylor.
    The Hills of Home has an entry for the Rosaine family written by Vera Millar, nee Rosaine. Her father came to the valley in 1917 and started the Central Meat Market with Sid Hopkins. She wrote that her mother was an avid curler and “won many prizes at Bonspiels around the country, and served as President of the Ladies’ club.”
    Another plaque from 1932 has the names Mrs. Lawson, Mrs. Henderson, Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Sluggit. A plaque from 1937 has names Mrs. C Burnham, Mrs. D Burnham, Mrs. Clifton and Mrs. Cook.
    The Hills of Home offers another possible clue. Mrs. Dora Burnham was the wife of Charles Burnham and they came to the valley in 1919 from Cochrane.  One Passage says: “She also spent many a happy hour at the curling rink where she was skip. I remember one of the ladies on her team was Mrs. Dean Lawson.  And mother used to refer to her as ‘Dizzy Dean’ and herself an ‘dumb Dora.’”
    Eddy would like to learn from residents if they recollect any of the ladies who appear on the trophy.
    Rather than leaving the trophy to be a relic, Eddy has revived the award. In the centennial year of Drumheller, they have dubbed the trophy the “Centennial Cup” and was awarded to the winning team at the Annual Ladies Bonspiel.

    In December, the world was rocked by the tragic school shooting in a small Connecticut town. The news reverberated throughout the media and the full ramifications have yet to be seen.
    Drumheller may feel distant from those events, but two residents deeply felt the loss of the children and paid their tribute to them in a unique way.
    In the Friday, January 18 edition of inSide Drumheller, a photo showing the Drumheller Cenotaph adorned with teddy bears was shown with a request to learn who did it. At the time it was assumed the bears were for the veterans.
    On Facebook, it was learned that Ruth Adams and Joyce Pozzolo placed the bears in memory of the children of the Connecticut shooting.
    “We were having coffee and talking about the children who were killed. We went and bought 20 little teddy bears and put them there. We didn’t know where else to put them,” said Adams. “I went around and didn’t see anything at the schools. It (the Cenotaph) was the only place we could think of.”
    The touching gesture was placed on the Cenotaph only several days after the shooting, but heavy snow buried the bears. The recent warm weather exposed them once again last week.
    For Adams, the bears serve as a reminder.
    “Every morning when I go to work I drive by and look that way and remember. I lost four people in one month and with the children passing it really hit home. I love children, I have two grandsons. Sometimes, you really feel it in your heart,” said Adams. “It made us feel good to do it. Every child needs a teddy. It wasn’t expensive and now there’s a teddy for each child.”
    The two ladies also welcome any more to help remember the tragedy.
    “It doesn’t hurt. Those little kids will never be forgotten,” said Pozzolo.