Growing Up at the Garden City Arena

The Garden City Arena was an inherently familial venue from its inception to its end. Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters spent time together at the arena bonding over common interests and experiences. In many ways, this arena shaped the relationships between the parents and children just as the families shaped the arena. No matter the specific impact one had on the other, the arena proved that family matters.

A picture of Mary Howard in front of her father, George Howard, a key figure in the creation of the CYO.

Contributed by Mary Howard.

A Family Matter

Mary Howard’s dad, George Howard, was one of the founders of the CYO and volunteered as the timekeeper and with St. John’s hospital during the hockey season for 51 years. Her family was also involved in the league as staff and as hockey players. She, for example, was a secretary for the CYO. At a mere seven or eight years old, Mary would occasionally have the pleasure of bringing her father dinner at the arena, as many of her siblings would do. Being a delivery girl, so to speak, for her father is how she first got involved in the arena. Additionally, she and her younger brother always wished to go to the hockey games where her father volunteered. She was a self-proclaimed daddy's girl, so she wanted to spend time with him. The arena was instrumental in the fabric of her family and helped her family members hold a distinct connection with each other that was undoubtedly rare.

David Sharron likewise got involved with the Garden City Arena through his son. Although his involvement began as just “a happy father watching his kids play” hockey with the CYO, he later coached his son’s team for years. Despite having no experience nor desire to coach, he stepped up after his son’s team needed coaches because he “wanted to make sure that they were being coached by someone who wants hockey to be fun and not thinking every kid on the ice has to be a superstar or be treated badly if they're not performing right.” With Sharron and Howard alike, what started as well-meaning time spent with their families at the arena turned into familial motivations driving the arena. It is potentially this family-centric environment that facilitated further family gatherings and memory-making.

Dan McKnight proudly showing off a plaque with a picture of his son, Robert, and Marcel Dionne and a signed puck from 2000. This is one of the many mementos that McKnight has of signed memorabilia. If the joy in his eyes is not evident, he said, “I often get a lot of happiness out of seeing some of these mementos that I've shared with you because it, it brings it all back, a really special time.”

Contributed by Dan McKnight.

An autographed picture of Walter Gretzky was made out to Dan McKnight’s eldest son, Robert. McKnight had to borrow $10 from a stranger at a St. Catharines Falcons game (at the suggestion of his neighbour) to get this son a picture.

Contributed by Dan McKnight.

Like Father Like Son

To borrow a quote from Neil Sutherland (1997), “no amount of children’s experiences within families would be complete without references to those special, sometimes cherished memories” (p. 168). It is precisely those experiences that bind children to their parents and grandparents. Most of our contributors grew up in the post-Second World War era when it was normal for families to go out together. By the 1950s/1960s, leisure on the weekends primarily consisted of spending time with your family outside of your home, so these examples from contributors are not out of the ordinary, and yet, each had a unique and special experience. Growing up, Dan McKnight lived in Toronto, met NHL legends with his father and watched NHL games. Years later, after becoming acquainted with the Garden City Arena, he was able to partake in similar experiences with his son. The arena used to host the Oldtimers Hockey Challenge - an event that brought retired hockey players, a few of which McKnight had met, to St. Catharines. While talking about meeting and sharing hockey heroes with his son, he said, “so, I guess, because I experienced it and I appreciated it, what my dad did, I was happy I could do with my son.” McKnight's reminiscent tone proved the impact this special experience had on him was great.

For much of history, children had more to do with their mothers than their fathers as their fathers were the primary breadwinners and, therefore, largely unavailable. When children spent time with individual parents, it was typically a father and son or mother and daughter. A gendered dynamic is mostly true even in more modern times. McKnight is a prime example, as are David Sharron and Douglas Hunt. This signifies that the Garden City Arena saw a clear shift in family dynamics as children had more time with their fathers and began partaking in “gendered activities” like hockey. McKnight’s father used to work shifts and was unavailable to take him to play hockey. McKnight, however, did not work shifts, so his son was able to play hockey for ten years. His son got the chance to do what McKnight wished he could do. In a way, he did get the chance to do as he wish as he went to games and the hockey events with his son. This is a distinct dynamic they got to have, and it shows the impact that time and class have on familial relationships.

Mike Schram and Duncan Schram with Bobby Stanfield and Fred Stanfield.

Contributed by Mike Schram. 

An Evolving Dynamic

Douglas Hunt attended Falcons games with his dad every Friday night from the time he was seven to his first year of high school. This Friday-night tradition is an important example of ways fathers and sons chose to bond. It was not a one-off hockey game but a tradition for several years. However, it also brings up the question of independence. Hunt said, “I can trace my sort of like independence developing within that arena.” Though children in the past were much more independent and responsible, children today are much more dependent on their parents, which is a key feature of the parent-child dynamic. That dynamic evidently changes as children age and the Garden City Arena provided a safe and secure venue for the parents to allow their children to become more independent. Hunt went through this process where at the beginning, he could not even walk to the bathroom or get food without being by his dad’s side, and by the end of their stint, though he would attend the games with his dad, he (and his best friend) “got too cool to sit with [their dads],” said Hunt. Even when he sat away from his father, he still went to the game with him and shared that common experience. At face value, the concept of going to the arena and sitting apart from one’s parents might seem counterintuitive to the concept of close ties with family members. Yet, it is simply the role of the parent to rear your child to that point of independence and it is a special thing to be able to have that happen while simultaneously bonding through a common experience.

St. Catharines Falcons in the round robin of the 2022 Sutherland Cup. The Falcons defeated the Chatham Maroons 5-1 enroute to their second Sutherland Cup in franchise history.

Contributed by Elizabeth Vlossak. 

Affordability of Family Bonding

While class had determined the sorts of family-centric activities families could take part in for a long time, the Garden City Arena was accessible enough that it practically encouraged any and all families to spend time together. Several of our contributors mentioned being able to watch the hockey games with their families due to the low price. Douglas Hunt would occasionally attend NHL (Buffalo Sabres) games with his father in the earlier years of his life but usually opted for the Junior B Falcons as it only cost roughly $5. McKnight similarly mentioned how expensive the NHL games had become in recent years. However, to McKnight, the Falcons “play harder and they’re better than the Maple Leafs.” So, it was hardly a sacrifice to watch the Falcons with his family. Mary Howard explained that she watched the hockey games for free "because dad was St. John's ambulance, we'd get in for nothing. So, the price was right.” Although Howard’s particular experience is unique among our contributors, it still establishes the arena as a family-friendly venue. The arena provided good entertainment for children and parents alike and at an affordable price. Though it was more the level of the league that dictated the affordability, than the desire to attract families, it is no coincidence that families did choose to spend time together at the hockey games.

Mike Kobylansky coaches his son at CYO hockey practice at the Garden City Arena, on the same ice he played CYO hockey in his youth.

Contributed by Mike Kobylansky. 

In some of these examples, we see the perspective of the child, like Howard and Hunt, other times we see the perspective of the parents like McKnight and Sharron. No matter the perspective, it is abundantly clear that the arena and the families relied on each other and proved that no matter the year, the activity (though it was typically hockey), or the family makeup, family matters and sharing common experiences matters.