Doug Brown may have turned in his keys but he’ll still be a fixture at the Cookstown Curling Club for years to come.
The long-time resident was recently honoured for his decades of volunteer service to the
club that’s a fixture in the Innisfil village, with an appreciation night attended by more than 100 people.
Brown’s lengthy connection to the club has been enjoyable and somewhat ironic at the same time.
When the Brown family moved to the area in 1955 from Port Credit, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about the pastime.
“I didn’t want to curl, but my dad talked me into it,” Brown recalls. The Cookstown facility was built in 1957, coincidentally the same year clubs were erected in Alliston and Bradford. And he took to the game right away.
In the early years, a couple of hundred members regularly graced the new building, a relaxing place to escape from the long, hard Simcoe County winters. The proximity of Doug and Daureen’s house on Church Street led to Doug offering to mind the store, so to speak.
“I got involved looking after things because I lived so close,” he says. “I ended up on the executive board. The guys who built the building cleaned the ice. It took a big effort. It was handy for me to let people in to see the rink. I always had a key at the house.
Ultimately, I became treasurer and bar steward. I took in deliveries to the club and whenever anyone would need something, they would call here.”
In the curling off-season, Brown worked as the manager of the Centreville amusement park on Centre Island in Toronto.
The night in his honour won’t soon be forgotten by Doug and Daureen.
“My friend, Brian Ross, said he would do something and asked if we wanted a supper. I said let’s just have an open house. Members from a number of curling clubs came out and said some nice things. A few I hadn’t seen for 20 years. Daureen and I each received a picture. I got a plaque and a lifetime free curling pass.”
He was presented with one unusual item.
“Doug has a habit of falling and splitting his head on the ice,” Daureen says. “Five times in five years. The guys bought him an ‘ice halo’ to wear around his head.”
Daureen ran the Cookstown competitive league for several years and also co-ordinated suppers at the club.
“The greatest part of curling is the atmosphere and camaraderie,” Brown says. “You shake your opponents’ hands before and after the game. You buy the losers a drink. Even in competitive curling, it’s the same, very friendly and social.”
Reflecting on his years of volunteering, Brown says, “Nothing was hard. The long hours never bothered me. Not too much bothers me. I just roll with things. We’re all different in how we operate.”
The couple plans to enjoy the summer with their two golden retrievers, Brownie and Bailey, and their five cats.
“Everything I did for the club was enjoyable,” he says. “I always knew I was helping the club.”
Today's Weather 
Overcast and -9°C
Overcast and -9°C
