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Well, you guessed it, a complete foulup of ribbons and kids. But, dip and dive until the bitter end, and finish with a flourish of sorts, amidst loud clapping from, guess who, our parents of course. Tea and cakes on the lawn, complete fiasco. Best part of the day yet to come, when we race home to change and head for the Humber River to hunt for shells. A day in May, Miss Briggs? Let's not revive this one. The piano is wheeled out on the lawn, Miss Briggs settles on the piano bench, hands poised above the keyboard like birds of prey ready to pounce. Places, girls, ready now, - go. Proud parents watching, gawky dancers, concen- trating on ribbons and music, hoarse whispers of, wrong way, this way oh, my feet! The day arrives, hot sun shining brightly. Important guests are there, the Bishop, the minister, teachers, and of course, our par- ents. Ladies with big hats, para- sols, and long eyelet dresses, men in dark suits, hats, hard collared shirts and ties. Not an open- necked sport shirt in the crowd. And we "girls" on, my, corkscrew curls, hair ribbons, frilled dresses, white stockings and patent leather shoes. ' R-I-B-BO-N-S are weaving a P-A-T T-E-R-N. Stop - - Start Again, and this time - - - Ple-e-e-use. The stage was set, all that was needed now, was to recruit twelve unsuspecting nine year old girls, from the WA. Many practices were involved, and we would go after school, (King St. school was just across the road) to prance and dance, weave and bob, and pray for rain on Saturday. Practice sessions were sheer tor- ture, and before long, it was six for, and six against, as the "dancer" opposite became an opponent in combat. Hop, skip, trip, hop, skip, trip, accompanied by screams of “NO MISTEPS, Ple-e-ase the Maypole Mixups Make Miss Mad The Briggs home was on King St., between the railroad tracks and the Moffat estate. It had a gorgeous lawn for garden parties, (if you like garden parties). When May came, up would go the May- pole, with long pink and white ribbons floating from the top. The Weston club was the first lawn bowling establishment in the West Toronto area, however, Parkdale. Kew Beach, Balmy Beach, Brampton, High Park are May was serious business for our Miss Briggs, who was in charge of the Junior W.A. at St. John's Church. As I remember, Miss Briggs was a capable, rather brusque, bossy, woman. The club, originally operated on Queen's Dr. but moved to Weston around 1910. The property was finally purchased in 1939. The earlier location is believed to be on property near the Masonic Hall. The earliest minute book available starts in 1928. Names of some of the oldest families in Weston are sprinkled in amongst all the motions, along with reports of some of the members winning efforts. Cricketand lacrosse clubs were operating before the bowlers, but they faded into extinction. Horse racing was also in operation at the "Fair Grounds" for many years. The Weston Lawn Bowling Club is the oldest athletic club in Weston. ______.... PASTIMES OF A CENTURY . LAWNBOWIJNG-THEOLDESTGAMEIN’I‘OWN l s,'.. s\ By Elsie MacPherson Weston's Miller Athletic Club won the 1946 Ontario Junior "C" Championship. Members included from left: Front row: Blake Eatough, Chuck Ellis, Ron Hurst, Ed Calhoun, Bruce Hales, Allan Chard. Middle row: Tom Everett, Gord Burlington, Bob Dillon, Lefty Chard, Herb Gray, Remo Florian, unknown, Ab Crocker, (coach). Back row: Frank Stevenson, Bill Gallagher. Ted Downer, unknown. Unfortunately, Hurricane Hazel washed both the courts and club house away. The club house was replaced with a one-room hut and new asphalt courts were laid, which were in use until 1971. That year saw a complete renovation taking The whole of the recreational area which included the Area, Lacrosse box and tennis club became the responsibility of the Lions Club in 1948. Plans were drawn up to add two more courts, to give the tennis club a total of six playing areas. The Weston Tennis Club open- ed its doors to the public in 1928 on the Little Ave. park site. The two grass courts were supervised by the then president, Ernest Banting. In 1932, four clay courts were built adjacent _ to the Humber River and Lawrence Ave. Robert Ashford was president. The next major trophy won was the United States Fours Championship in 1972. This team comprised of Oscar Fillman, lead Freddie Smith, second, John Robertson as vice with A. D. Templman as skip. The Provincial tournament's Gold Cup was won by club members, Steve Hill, Bill Burgess, "Doc" Inch and Stan Chapman, in.1934. In the mid 1950's the "Oshawa Gold Cup" was captured by the team skipped by Fred Templeman. Various dams to service lumber and grist mills created ponds which were used for many recreational pastimes such as swimming. It is obvious that Sunday boating on the Humber was popular around the turn of the century. . In the 1923 constitution, it is mentioned that any ungentle- manly conduct within or outside the club would be cause for dis- missal of any member. Women were only granted the privilege of using the greens on one after- noon, and one evening in the week when first allowed to participate. some of the still existing clubs mentioned in earlier competition records. "ss-Ea/cus 7 Anyone For Tennis? Weston Tennis Club inter- competition winners for 1946 were from left Cecil Brown, Runner up; Betty Johnson, runner up; Laurie Jones, single mens winner; Mary Farchine, ladies single win- ner. place, including new lighting and courts with a rubberized surface. Later, a larger clubhouse was built with complete facilities for hosting other clubs in competition. The women now outnumber the men as members and now have their own tournaments and participate in mixed events. This year the Weston women, under the leadership of Estelle McCool, president, are helping sponsor the World's Bowls for ladies at the Willowdale club. The Weston Lawn Bowling Club welcomes new members at its location, 2059, anytime after the official opening Victoria Day weekend. _ Ruth Snider won the Provincial championship in 1980 at Willow- dale Greens, then went on to represent Ontario in Regina as the Singles champion. In 1979, the Mens Pairs from Weston won the Ontario champ- ionship at Burlington Greens and went on to finish second at the Dominion Championship/s in Montreal. Weston Lacrogse Club, Toronto Junior League Champions, 1907 First row - left to right: G. Coulter, L. McEwen, R. Munshaw, G. Mackay, C. Bowers; Second row: D. Holley, R. Rowntree, G. Me. Farlane, M. Holley, R. Irvine; Top row: J. Leitch, K. Cruickshank, Dr. E. F. Irwin, W. McFarlane, H. Hugill, Mgr. F. Irvine This is the eariest photo of bowling on the green, taken in Weston in 1897. Apparently the Toronto Thistles drew the ,Weston Heather's to a tie on July 17, somewhere in the village. In 1926 after defeating Quebec, the team travelled West winning the supreme, lacrosse trophy, the Weston became famous as a "Lacrosse Town", producing many trophy winning Junior and Intermediate teams. The Inter- mediate team of 1914-15, is con- sidered the greatest of all time, losing only one game. ' As teams were builCup, the Senior series became the import- ant one, capturing the Senior O.A.L.A. from 1922 to 1927. As early as 1882, Weston had one of the best teams in the Pro- vince, winning many honours. The field location was changed a few times over the years. Games were held first on north-end railway property. then near the C.C.M. plant, then Scarlett Rd. Finally an excellent field, both for playing and viewing was located inside the trotting race track in Weston Fair Grounds, now our present recreation centre. Although Cricket was the earliest sport played in Weston, it's popularity faded, as the Town was captivated by the colourful, exciting, crowd-pleasing game of field lacrosse. Weston Senior Lacrosse Team Captured Mann Cup in 1926 The 1930's brought to an end field laerosse in our town. Box lacrosse, never got off the ground here. Some of our boys j6ined a team, sponsored by Mount Dennis Firemen. Art. Greenwood, goalie, Ed. Dodd, Graham brothers, the Barron brothers and names of Baines, Hatton, Hall, Cordick, Wilson and Rupe Barker are remembered. Some went on to play at the Maple Leaf Gardens for the Marlboro's and others travelled as far as California for exhibition games. Hockey? Old-timers would dispute it's acceptance as Canada's national game. Canada's pride and joy, . . . LACROSSE. E. and K. Kingdom Bob Stephen- son, Hap. Holley, Ellerby Farr, E. Brown and others. Mann Cup. In 1927, the Town Council under, fiery, red-haired Mayor Bob Flynn, honoured the team with presentations. Names of players of this sporting era would include, F.W. Rountree, F. Harrison, A.R. Smith, N. Riley, G. Coulter, P. Laceby, G. Dicken, E. Holley, L. Ramshaw, L. McEwen, H. Coulter, W. Coulter, W. Wilson, the CENTENNIAL page 13