LISTOWEL – With the Memorial Arena Park 59 (MAP59) committee continuing to build up donations towards its fundraising goal of $1.4 million, an upcoming event is expected to significantly help bolster its capital campaign through an evening of singing, dancing, community fellowship, and remembrance.
‘Remember ‘59 – A Hockey Party’ is slated for Saturday, Oct. 14 at Parkview Gardens in Listowel, serving as a fundraiser in support of the future park and memorial at the former site of Listowel Memorial Arena. The evening will feature a concert courtesy of local act Need An Elevator, as well as silent and live auctions containing a number of high-quality donated items from the North Perth business community, private contributors, and various professional and junior hockey clubs.
Four hundred tickets have been printed for the event and are currently on sale for $30 each, or (rather appropriately) $59 for two.
“I think the excitement is building,” commented MAP59 committee member Kate Tervit. “There’s a lot of talk around town about it.”
Attendees are encouraged to come clad in a ‘hockey jersey dress code.’ Doors open at 7 p.m., with the concert/dance taking place from 8-11 p.m.
“It doesn’t matter what your favourite team is – it could be a Cyclones jersey, could be a Leafs jersey. Could be anything,” said Tervit. “We’re just looking at a casual theme.”
The list of items available for bidding at the event’s silent and live auctions is extensive and impressive in scope, and includes: NHL jerseys from a dozen different clubs; OHL jerseys/tickets for the Kitchener Rangers, Owen Sound Attack and Erie Otters; a Canadian Women’s Olympic hockey team autographed jersey; a propane barbecue; an iPad; and gift cards.
“It was a surprise for all of us,” said Tervit of the auction items collected by the committee. “Kudos to our committee member, Bruce Fitzgerald, who seemed to have a lot of NHL team connections. He did a serious letter-writing campaign to various NHL teams, and almost all of them came through, with either a jersey or autographed item. It was just a surprise and gratifying thing to see that they’re behind this project as well.”
The support from the broader hockey community outside of Listowel isn’t lost on Tervit and the rest of the MAP59 committee. Following the initial roof collapse of the original Listowel Memorial Arena on Feb. 28, 1959, professional, junior and minor hockey clubs from across the country expressed their condolences and support in the wake of the deaths of the eight victims – Recreation Director Ken McLeod, along with peewee players Jimmy Hastings, Kenneth Hymers, Ricky Kaufman, Jackie Rheubottom, Bryan Seehaver, Barry Smith and Keith Wight.
Nearly 65 years later, that extended hockey community continues to come through with support of the memorial and park site that will help serve to immortalize those who were killed.
“That story has resonated across the province and across the nation,” said Tervit.
Park plans, details, estimated costs
Back in the fall of 2022, the MAP59 committee selected aspects from a variety of community submissions that will best suit the future park; donations over $500 will be etched on the donor recognition wall opposite the memorial wall displaying the names of the eight victims of the collapse. The memorial wall – represented by a section of hockey board fronted by eight pairs of bronzed skates – will overlook the position of the former centre ice area of the arena.
The park will also include eight flowering memorial trees, benches, a natural children’s playground area, picnic spaces, new lighting and walking paths, and outdoor winter ice for public use.
A breakdown of the park features and estimated costs:
Playground (natural, sensory) – $185,000
Park pathways – $180,000
Lighting – $85,000
Memorial board (wall) – $60,000
Centre line/centre ice marker – $25,000
Memorial area bench – $20,000
Harvest table – $17,000
Building corner markers posts/plaques – $15,000
Rain garden(s) – $11,000
Contemplative space benches – $10,000
Memorial trees – $5,000
Seed mix for meadow – $5,000
Bronze memorial skates – $4,000
Site benches – $3,000
Deciduous trees – $3,000
Bike racks – $2,000
“I think if you look at the proposed design of this project, you’ll see there are some very stirring aspects to it – particularly the bronze skates and the hockey boards,” said Tervit. “I think people will be moved emotionally by what happened that day. Even as I say that, it stirs my heart.”
MAP59 Committee
Headed by Chair Jerry Rozendal, the MAP59 committee is comprised of members of the community, working alongside three representatives from the municipality.
The MAP59 community representatives include long-time Friends of 59 members Pete Leppard and Keith Bender, who are survivors of the 1959 Memorial Arena collapse. Tervit said that the goal is to have shovels in the ground for the MAP59 project by the spring of 2024.
Fundraising currently stands in excess of $475,000.
“We have two members on our committee who survived that day, and for them and for generations to come, they will think about what happened that day and remember those young boys and coach and realize we need to remember that,” Tervit said. “And realize how things have changed since that day.”
Tickets for the Oct. 14 ‘Remember ‘59 – A Hockey Party’ are available at Corley Sports, Ideal Supply, and through any MAP59 committee member. Posters have been placed in various businesses and municipal buildings around North Perth containing details of the event as well as a QR code that can be scanned for tickets.
Donations to the project can be made at any time, and can be processed directly through the Municipality of North Perth’s website at www.northperth.ca/donate.
