History of the Morell Rink and Hockey in the Morell Area

As told by the late Reg MacAdam (1992) - Chairperson of the Morell Rink Committee

    It seems there was always a rink in Morell.  The first closed in rink was built in 1914 near where the pharmacy and doctors offices  are currently located.  This had to be a very major undertaking for a community the size of Morell as there would not be more than 45 families living in the community proper, but with the help of the surrounding districts, the rink became a reality.  A lot of lumber was sawed in local mills powered by water and constructed in a manner that did not have great horsepower, for the sawing of the large logs for the main trusses, this must have created a lot of ingenuity.

    The rink opened its doors to a well - advertised skate.  The ice maker at the time, Art Eldershaw, would not have the skate until he had a foot of ice.  A red - hot poker was used to indicate the thickness of the ice.  When a foot of ice was reached, the doors were opened.  A special train came from Charlottetown (about 30 miles) with a band and they skated all night.  There was great excitement and a good time enjoyed by all.  It was stated that when the skate was over, the red Island clay began to show through the ice.

    Special trains and bands coming to Morell from other areas apparently was a common occurrence as there were only a few closed rinks on the Island at that time.  There was always a lot of hockey interest in Morell.  In the early days, Morell had an eight - man squad that was the talk of the Island.  This team was led by Ignatious Murphy, whom the older people say was the best hockey player they ever saw play the game.  Large centers like Charlottetown and Summerside could not beat this Morell team.  I understand that this team drove by horse and sleigh to St. Peter's, a distance of about 14 miles return, in minus 20 degree Fahrenheit and high winds.  The team, after playing their game and still sweating, and I understand, with lots of booze, they got an awful freezing coming home.  As it also began to snow, they lost their way several times and Murphy came down with pneumonia and died a few days later.

    In the old days, skating was a very popular pastime and they had an hour skate after every hockey game, this custom continued well into the sixties when it was finally discontinued. Skates are now held on Sunday afternoons.

    The lights for the first rink were supplied from a small gasoline engine.  The engine was not powerful enough to run both the lights and the water pump, so floods were always done in the dark with the aid of a gasoline lantern.  Flooding was performed by connecting a
1 - 1/2 inch pipe from the pump to a large tank at centre ice and use buckets to cover the ice from this centre source.

    The first rink was not used only for ice - related games, it was utilized in the summer for tea parties, dances, school fairs, and boxing matches.  In time, the rink fell into disrepair and became unsafe and was taken down in 1938.

    In 1950, an open air rink was built on the east side of the village, where the present rink is situated.  This rink served the skating public and fans for 12 years, when in 1962 a large closed - in rink was built.  The open - air rink was built by the local Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch # 26).

    When it was decided that a new rink was to be built in Morell in 1962, a public meeting was called by the rate-payer of the village to approve the borrowing of the money.  This meeting proved to be very controversial, as it turned out, the chairman of the commissioners, a very senior citizen fearing a large tax increase, notified all the seniors in the area to attend and when time came to vote on the approval of the loan, it was turned down.  This was a devastating blow for the promoters of the rink.  However, a few days after the meeting, the chairman approached the committee and told them it was an awful mistake for the action he took and stated that most of the people who voted against the rink would not be around much longer and he would call another meeting.  When this meeting took place, all in attendance, including the chairman, were in favour of borrowing money needed to build the rink.

    The cost to construct the new rink was $42,000.  The meeting approved only $20,000.  This meeting took place in October and it was decided to begin construction as soon as a contractor could get the materials.  The lumber for the trusses had to be brought in from out of Province and assembled on site, using a large crane to put them in place. Construction began in December and the rink was opened for the month of March, 1963.

    During the period of construction, a group of dedicated workers used to run a fire hose from the Co-op Creamery, a distance of about 500 yards, every night it was cold enough to flood, thus enabling the rink to open the day it was finished with a beautiful sheet of ice.

    A very busy fundraising committee was organized to raise the additional $22,000 for the balance of the contract.  The first event to save money was a winter works project which was a Federal Government program that put people on the job that were drawing unemployment insurance.  hey were generally not a happy group of people.  Another major fundraising program was to organize the Annual Sportsman's Dinner.  This dinner took place in the old Community Hall and the organizers had an over sell of tickets so inclement weather helped to keep some people from coming and got them off the hook.  The tickets were $10.00 each and 250 were sold with only room for 200 in the hall.  {Note:  The first dinner saw only males attend}.  Some of the locals ate in the kitchen to make room for "outsiders".  The bar tickets were 3 for $1.00, needless-to-say they would soon run out of booze.  They managed to clean out the Legion also, and still there was not enough.  The local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who was also a Cabinet Minister contacted the manager of the Cardigan Liquor Store, which is 18 miles away.  The MLA asked him how he liked his job and if he wanted to keep it to be at the Liquor Store in half an hour as he was sending two men over for ten cases of beer and two cases of hard liquor.  The manager showed up, the booze was picked up, and the dinner continued without any more hitches.  With all the fundraising taking place, we had raised enough money to pay the contractor when the rink was completed in March.  These Sportsman's Dinners turned out to be very popular as fundraising events and social events that Morell hosted its 30th in 1992.  When the new high school opened in 1963, the dinner could accommodate more than 600 people at one sitting.  The largest number to attend a dinner was 625, when Bobby Orr was guest speaker.  Over $100,000 has been raised at the first twenty-nine dinners.  Artificial ice was installed in 1973 and all debts on the rink were paid off.  Proceeds from the dinner now (1992) go to Minor Hockey, Minor Baseball, and Figure Skating Club.  The dinners now take place in the summer.  One of the largest reasons for the success of the dinners is the quality of guest speakers, and in most cases at no charge to the committee.  A few of the guest speakers include:  Jacques Plante, Rocket Richard, Foster Hewitt, King Clancey, Danny Gallivan, Don Cherry, Don Loney, Al MacAdam, Don MacAdam, Terry O'Rielly, Claude Mouton, Mike Keenan, Lyman MacInnis, Bobby Orr, Glen "Chico" Resch, Dick Irvin, Ken Dryden, Danny Grant, Don Goodwin, Lori Kane, and Jim Hugheson, and Scott Russell.

    In the early years of the new rink, the canteen was operated by female volunteers, two women, one week at a time.  As more women entered the work force, it was getting harder to get volunteers.  With most of the work being done by the same ladies most of the time, the job was eventually made into a paying position.

    When the rink opened, there was only two dressing rooms.  In the mid - 1970's, a project took place when a group of men were hired and over 600 cords of lumber were cut and sold.  The money raised from this project was used to add four more dressing rooms, two larger washrooms, and a modern canteen with provisions for new services such as deep fat fryer, stove, coffee and hot chocolate machines.  There was also a sports equipment section added to the canteen, as there are no sports stores in the area.  The canteen is now the largest revenue income for the rink.

    In the summer of 1984, disaster struck the rink when a devastating fire destroyed most of the rink.  The cost of reconstructing was in the $250,000 range.  Thank God for insurance!  A new meeting room was added above the canteen at this time.  This was very convenient for Minor Hockey, the Figure Skating Club, and for a relaxing area during tournaments between games.   Also during rebuilding, new ice boards were installed and covered with vinyl puck boards, glass was installed surrounding the entire ice surface, replacing the chicken wire that was there before.  Bleachers were also built to seat 700 people, and a heated area was added which was well received, especially by the elders who liked to come and watch their grandchildren play hockey and skate.

    Prior to the installation of artificial ice in 1973, the rink could operate anywhere from six to ten weeks, depending on the weather.  After 1973, all programs could be scheduled for the whole season from early fall until the spring, and at the same time assuring the rink of a regular and steady income.

    Also since artificial ice became available, all levels of sport using the arena have become very competitive with any other community on the Island, regardless of their size.  When high school hockey was in vogue, Morell won Island Championships even with one of the smallest enrolments in the province.  Senior teams from Morell represented the Island on numerous occasions at Maritime Championships.  In 1939, the Morell Senior team won the Island Championships over the City of Charlottetown and the Town of Summerside.

Morell Mosquito Hockey Team 1973-74 Island Champs

Players include Back Row, left to right - 
Coach Vance Webster, Terry Squires, David Sansom, Robbie Squires, Chris McGrath, and Coach Austin Sansom.
Front Row, left to right - 
Kevin Trainor, Mike Kok, Andrew MacAdam, John Dunphy, Lyndon Trainor, and Darren Murphy

    `In 1990 a new skate sharpening machine was purchased at a price of $8500.00, this has turned out to be a great revenue maker.

    Figure skating in 1992 had an enrolment of 130 children and minor hockey had an enrolment of 145 children.  Two recreation leagues operated out of the arena, with a total of 12 teams.  The Morell Oldtimers played in a six-team county league with their home games at the Morell arena.  Quite a number of the minor hockey players went on to play Junior "A" and University Hockey from the Morell system.

    In January, 1992, the Morell Community Rink purchased a new Zambonie at a cost of $50,000, $8,000 more than the cost to construct the rink in 1963.

    The future looks great for the arena, as there is a planned figure skating seminar in April.  With the construction of a world class Golf Links, "The Links at Crowbush Cove", five miles from Morell, the rink committee feels it would make for a great vacation package.  Visitors couold go for a round of golf, and their kids to hockey school, and enjoy the beautiful beaches a few miles away.

    Three of the Morell Minor Hockey Program's most popular graduates are A. J. MacAdam, who was the first and only person in 125 years of St. Dunstan's University to receive a Gold "D" - MVP in basketball, hockey, rugby, and track and field.  Later he coached at the university.  Presently, the soccer field at U.P.E.I. is named in his honour as well as a division in the Atlantic University Sporthad been named in his honour for a number of years until it was realigned;  Donnie MacAdam graduated from the Morell Minor Hockey Association and went on to play at U.N.B..  He was then drafted by the Toronto Toros of the now defunct W.H.L., and later played professional in Europe.  He returned to Fredericton to coach the U.N.B.  hockey team.  From there he went on to become assistant coach with Jacques Demers with the Detroit Red Wings of the N.H.L..  Since then he has coached in other professional leagues such as the A.H.L. and  E.C.H.L.;  Alan MacAdam, after playing minor hockey in Morell, played high school hockey in Morell, then played with the Charlottetown Jr. "A" Islanders, U.P.E.I. Panthers, and was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers of the N.H.L..  He played 12 years in the N.H.L. with a number of teams: California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars, and Vancouver Canucks.  He finished his professional career temporarily as coach of the Vancouver farm team in Fredericton - the Fredericton Express.  He moved from there to coach the St. Thomas Tommies in the A.U.A.A., Assistant coach with Chicago Black Hawks and U.P.E.I. Panthers, and is presently coaching the Halifax Moosheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

1992 - Present  (In the works)

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