Early Club History

The town of Lewiston, Michigan knew little about curling until Harold Aarons, a retired advertising executive, decided the people should learn about his favorite sport.  It took a lot of explaining and some convincing to persuade the local well drilling contractor to build a curling sheet ("A what sheet?" was his first question) alongside his commercial skating rink.

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Meanwhile, Aarons had the difficult task of finding enough interested residents to make it all worthwhile. "None of them had the slightest inclination of what I was talking about when I first approached them. But the curling rink at Jane's Place went up in the winter of 1960-1961, and the project was off the ground", said Aarons.

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Some of Aarons' friends from his old club, the Detroit Curling Club, drove up to Lewiston and put on an exhibition for the local inhabitants.  As a result, 19 new recruits were soon enjoying the game.  However, with the winter came problems.  The curlers were eager, but inclement weather made curling irregular.

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This did not stop Aarons. He decided that if the weather were the only deterrent to the success of curling in Lewiston, it would be overcome.

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White pine was soon going down on his section of land, and raw lumber was being cut, trimmed, aged, and prepared at the local mill. Through donated labor and materials, a two sheet enclosed arena was built; complete with heated spectator partitions, and a coffee bar. Colorfully designed playing areas rapidly took form. The rink was completed in 1963 at a cost of less than $3500.

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As the completion of the new commercial structure drew near, interest developed and the residential membership is now over 45, with young people of the area showing great enthusiasm.

Aarons thinks Lewiston's winter weather is almost perfect for curling. "Many clubs must resort to artificial means to maintain their sheets. But here we just flood our ice and the next day we have a perfect curling area and a very good time"

THE CURLER MARCH, 1965

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