It’s the beginning of the end for Osoyoos’ old curling rink and former museum this week as NAPP Enterprises is set to begin the demolition of the nearly 70-year-old structure.
Once the structure is demolished, the site graded to a sand surface, and associated materials removed from the site by March 2023, the foreshore rehabilitation will take place with the aim of having it completed by the end of May 2023.
This rehabilitation will consist of the removal of the invasive tree species along the shoreline, replanting with native species, and the installation of a fence to define the riparian area.
Any additional improvements will need to be realized once the foreshore rehabilitation is complete, the town says.
The original curling rink opened in 1954. Photo courtesy of Osoyoos & District Museum and Archives.
The overall budget for this project is $616,628 which will include the demolition of the structure at $275,000 and rehabilitation and tree removal requirements estimated at $200,000.
This could leave up to $141,628 for any temporary improvements once the rehabilitation and the demolition are completed.
Town staff put out the request for proposal (RFP) in the beginning of December which closed in the first week of January. The successful bidder wanted to begin demolition straight away which required a hastily called special meeting on Jan. 13 to clear the way for the demolition.
There were other bidders, at least five, according to Town CAO, Rod Risling. Mayor Sue McKortoff expressed her amazement at the fact there were five bids – normally there is only one or two bidders for RFPs. “I think we hit it very lucky,” Risling says, noting that a lot of businesses aren’t as busy as yet after the festive season.
Lake, local ponds were early rinks
The earliest days of curling in Osoyoos and Oliver began on frozen Osoyoos Lake and ponds in the area where local legend, according to the Osoyoos Curling Club (OCC) on its website, is that Dougall Burpee used to curl using his own set of rocks in Osoyoos.
Meanwhile, in Oliver, Dick Topping was also identified as an early curler, having his own set of rocks too and using them on an outdoor rink in his backyard.
In the early 1950’s Topping reportedly spearheaded a drive to build an indoor curling club in Oliver. The new rink was to be the first curling club in the South Okanagan. Unable to raise the funds in Oliver, Topping sought out the assistance of interested curlers from Osoyoos, Midway, Rock Creek, and Oroville, Washington. This became the aptly named International Curling Club in Osoyoos.
According to the OCC website, Osoyoos residents Chuck Emery, Pat Fraser, and others came on board to raise funding through the sale of $100 memberships and $50 banknotes to construct the new curling club on the lakefront in Osoyoos.
On March 17, 1954 the International Curling Club opened its doors to the public with Burpee throwing the first rock at the grand opening.
Curling took off from there with members driving from as far away as Midway and Keremeos to play league games during the week and bonspiels attracting as many as 100 teams curling around the clock in the four-sheet rink.
The need for a more modern facility was recognized in the early 1970’s with fundraising and government grant money enabling a new club to open in 1975. A location next to the ice hockey arena was chosen in order to share the cost of ice-making with the arena, reducing the normally substantial operating and capital expenditures the old club had.
Another advantage of this location, the OCC notes, was the ability to maintain ice during the summer months. On one summer day when the arena was being used for hockey school, the curling club decided to hold a bonspiel. In 1978 the Osoyoos Mid-Summer Mixed Bonspiel was born, remaining a perennial favourite on the curling calendar.
