Bourkevale Bulletin

Volume 1, Issue 1

Page 2

Bourkevale celebrates 60th year

Bourkevale Community Centre officially began operations in 1949. However, until 1952, the club consisted of little more than an ice rink and a small, heated skate shack. Bourkevale was given a modest parcel of land to use during the winter months from the City of St. James in the south-east corner of what was then a nine-hole golf course. Area residents maintained the club through a $2-a-year membership fee per family. There were no government subsidies for community centres in those days. Over time, the club realized it needed a larger clubhouse to hold functions, dances and other activities. And in 1952, Bourkevale had an opportunity to purchase an "H-hut" used during World War II as temporary housing for airmen on Ferry Road near the airport. The cost of purchasing, transporting and transforming the building into a clubhouse was pegged at $4,000. Bourkevale had $1,700 in the bank and $700 in pledges at the time, according to board minutes. Then-club president Bob Pyne loaned the club $500 and Bourkevale raised the balance from donations and fundraisers. The H-hut was transported down Ferry Rd. on a flat-bed truck and was placed at the existing club site. It remains today as the clubs main hall. With great fanfare and a dance on Dec. 5, 1952 Bourkevale's new clubhouse was officially opened. The main hall was packed and the ceremony included a ribbon-cutting by then St. James mayor Reg Wightman, club president Art Stephens and past-president Bob Pyne. Check out www.mybourkevale.com for more historical information about your club.

Bourkevale Bruins, 1958. Check out the boards in the background.

Robert Albert Pyne

Bob Pyne was the founder of Bourkevale Community Centre. Naturally, there were a lot of people involved in the creation of the original club. But Pyne, the clubs second president, was the driving force behind getting a clubhouse for Bourkevale. Without his vision and perseverance, Bourkevale may not exist today. When it appeared that the club didnt have enough funds to purchase an H-hut from the military to transport down Ferry Road to the site where the club still stands today, it was Pyne who offered to loan Bourkevale the money required to make the dream happen. All of this and much more is found in original hand-written and later typed board minutes from the 1950s the club still has today. In those early years, board members held meetings at each others homes and in public facilities like Assiniboine School on Winston Rd. from 1949 to 1952 before the main club was built. Board meetings were often held at Pynes home at 1860 Assiniboine Avenue. After Pyne passed away in 1963, a commemorative trophy was created in his name and was awarded to local amateur athletes.