Check out the food court at Cambridge Centre Mall to view that community's sports museum
Just like Woodstock, Cambridge began its sports hall of fame in 1996
By Mark Schadenberg
While
Christmas Shopping in Cambridge about 10 days ago I decided double duty was my
desire, so I stopped by the Cambridge Centre Mall on Highway 24 (Hespeler Road)
for ideas, ideas and more ideas.
Holiday
shopping – check
Discovering
the Cambridge sports hall of fame (CSHF) in a mall which also features an open-space
arena inside the food court – check.
(With the Woodstock Recreation Advisory
Committee creating a new look for the Woodstock Sports Wall Of Fame, there are
2 posts here describing the Brantford and Cambridge models to honour their
community's best-ever athletes and teams)
I
did, however, forget my camera, but was quite impressed with all the glassed-in
displays of biographies, photographs, artifacts, newspaper stories, and other items of recognition. Not
quite as impressive as the Brantford hall of fame, but certainly very
impressive.
In
the accompanying mall layout picture you will note the shopping destination
also includes a multi-plex movie theatre, but the mall itself is smaller than
both White Oaks or Masonville in London.
I
wasn’t exactly sure on the layout of the mall upon my arrival, but a directory map indicated I should walk down quite an ordinary hallway of storefronts -- with a Yankee Candle and a Laura Secord shop competing for
aroma senses -- and end up in this large open space which covers the bases for a
sports fan (like myself) because there is a New York Fries, hockey arena and
sports hall of fame all in one spacious room.
Cambridge inductees
range from baseball’s Rob Ducey to hockey’s Jody Hull (Plus the legendary Hilda
Ranscombe, and NHLers Kirk Maltby and Jim Schoenfeld) to speed skater Cindy
Overland to curler Ann Dunn to golfer Ian Leggatt. With Woodstock’s great
figure skating coach Kerrie Leitch becoming famous at the Preston skating club,
it’s easy to see why he has been recognized by the Cambridge sports shrine as
Cambridge is the combination of communities Preston, Galt and Hespeler.
Leitch most certainly belongs (in my opinion) on the Woodstock wall, but that story will be covered when nominations are invited for the re-vamped Woodstock sports 'wall'.
Kerrie Leitch
For
$49.95 you can also purchase a book as compiled by David Menary. The book is
about 450 pages and should be as the Cambridge sports hall has inducted close
to 150 athletes (48 from hockey), builders, historic figures and teams. That’s
an impressive array of honourees considering their hall started in the same
year as Woodstock in 1996.
I
should plan a Saturday, May 7th visit to Cambridge, which has been
announced already as its next induction ceremony. I will invite Steve Gilbert
and the rest of the recreation advisory committee from the City of Woodstock,
and the gas and New York Fries will be directed to the Woodstock budget.
Cambridge History
The
famed Galt Arena could be confused as being a museum due to the history in its
walls. The Shade Street rink is billed as the world’s oldest operating arena as
it was opened in 1914 and is still home to the Junior B Cambridge Winter Hawks.
Quite honestly, it’s a larger version of the old Perry Street Arena (1908-1996)
in Woodstock.
GALT ARENA
The
Cambridge sports hall started out modestly as a sports honour role and its
inducted membership were recognized in the foyer of the Galt Arena, which had
been recently renovated at the time. The hall web site, which is noted below, describes how and when the hall moved to the Cambridge Centre mall in 2001 thanks in part to the Waterloo
Regional Heritage Foundation and a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
It
is interesting to note, the CSHF is also coincided with an established foundation created to therefore accept monetary donations for tax refunds and at the same time
contribute to scholarships for graduating high school athletes.
You
have likely seen other posts in my blog about museums in general, such as
Woodstock, Beachville, Norwich, Ingersoll and Tillsonburg’s Annandale House. I
enjoy history and sports, so why not have an admiration for sports history.
LINKS:
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . .
Destination
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