Wannaska's 1953 Roseau Area Girls Hockey Champions
by Barbra (Larson) Roseen
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| Top, left: Sandy Lee, Doris Kimble, Elaine Berg, Barb Larson,Martha Larsen, Mava Brateng. Bottom, left: Marjorie Ann Berg, Shirley Palm, Stella Kimble, Yvonne Oslund, Marlys Olson, Avis Palm. |
Girls hockey has become a major sport in Roseau County and throughout Minnesota. It may come as a surprise to many hockey fans that girls hockey actually originated over fifty years ago in the Roseau County rural elementary schools.
Back in the 50s, the rural schools were under the supervision of Charles Christianson, Roseau County Superintendent of Schools. Supt. Christianson firmly believed that all children should have a recess period in which they would participate in physical activities. He believed that competitive sports and physical fitness were a necessity for the rural school children if they were to stay healthy and compete at the H.S. level. There were no gymnasiums in the rural schools, and consequently students were required to play or exercise outdoors during the half hour recess in the morning and again in the afternoon. In the winter, teachers were allowed to combine the one hour lunch break with the afternoon recess to allow the students time to skate or practice hockey in the outdoor rink. We skated over an hour a day at school, and those of us that lived within walking distance of the rink would sometimes endure the cold weather and go back for evening skating. There were no computers, cell phones, or TVs to occupy our time, and the outdoor ice rink was our main entertainment. No one seems to recall exactly who came up with the suggestion that both boys and girls should have hockey teams, but I remember that we girls thought we should have equal time on the rink, and the only way to do that was to play hockey!
The hockey that we played back in the early l950s is very much different than today's girls hockey. We did not have protective equipment such as helmets, gloves, elbow or shoulder pads, and shin pads. Some of the lucky girls had shin pads from their brothers. Our head gears were the popular angora scarves or fluffy earmuffs, and we wore plain knit gloves for warmth. We borrowed hockey sticks from the boys team or our big brothers. We understood that we should not play rough or trip anyone. Tripping was not part of good sportsmanship, and was not to be taken lightly. I remember this all too well, as I received a tripping penalty for unintentionally tripping Bonnie Elton when playing the Ross Team. How embarrassing! Bonnie became one of my good friends in high school, and we joked about it later.
Most of us skated with figure skates because that was all we had. My parents bought me my first (and only) pair of white figure skates when I was ten years old. They were two sizes too big so that I could grow into them. My feet quit growing, and I had to wear several pairs of socks to make the skates fit. It was not uncommon to have our heels or toes go numb from the extreme cold, and I learned to appreciate the extra socks.
We were always supervised by one of the teachers, but I don't recall having a regular coach. We watched the boys and tried to learn from them. Sometimes some of the older boys would give us suggestions and advice. Parents would seldom travel to other rural schools to attend our games, but they would show up in great numbers when the games were held in Wannaska.
To the best of my recollection, there were four rural schools that had girls hockey teams; Wannaska, Salol, Ross, and Malung. Some of the other schools were too small to have a team. Our games were played the same night as the boys games, and we all rode together in the same bus. It was very exciting to ride the school bus to one of the other schools for our games. Although the busses had some heat, they were still quite cold, and we all had to dress warmly. We did a lot of visiting, laughing, and singing on the bus ride. Occasionally, we would be allowed to stop at Christy's Cafe for a treat before returning home. To a group of country kids, this was the highlight of the whole evening.
The warming house by the outdoor rink in Wannaska was not always warm because only the adults were allowed to start the open wood barrel stove. There were no protective grates around the stove. It is amazing that no one was seriously burned when fans and players crowded into the small house to warm up at hockey games between periods. Skate guards were not often used, and the old wood floors were rough and cut up from skaters who came in to warm themselves.
Supt. Christianson started an elementary Winter Junior Sports Meet in the early 1950s. The Meet was held in Roseau. Students from Roseau County schools were invited to participate and compete in various sports; such as speed skating, relays, and hockey. Eliminations would be held in each school for the different events, and the top two winners would advance to the Sports Meet. The Meet was a two-day event, with eliminations on Friday and championship competition on Friday. In addition to the speed skating and relay finals, we had hockey play-offs much like we have today. Everyone from our school would cheer for us, but we were often heckled by some of the boys from the R.H.S. Hockey Team. After all, hockey was a boys sport, and figure skating was the acceptable sport for girls. The Roseau School did not have a girls hockey team, but they had some wonderful figure skaters under the direction of Nancy Burggraf. I am sure that most of us would have preferred figure skating if we would have had the opportunity, but traveling to Roseau for figure skating lessons was not affordable for most parents.
It was in the winter of 1953 that the Wannaska Girls Team won the Championship at the 1952-53 Winter Junior Sports Meet. This was the first year that girls hockey was played competitively in Roseau County. We were so thrilled to play in an indoor arena in front of so many people. If my memory is correct, we defeated the Ross team in the championship game by a score of 1-0, with Yvonne (Oslund) Rahn making the winning goal. We thought we were local celebrities when we had our picture taken for the Roseau Times-Region. How exciting! We all stopped at Christy's Cafe to celebrate and have a treat, and then we cheered and sang on the bus all the way home!
ReplyDeleteNice memento of bygone days.