Thanks for the beautiful memories
To the Expositor:
I, Marilyn, was born and raised in Arnes, Manitoba, which is 13 miles south of Riverton. Emil came to the area in 1959 with a posting to the RCAF Base in Gimli. We were married in December 1960 and lived in Arnes. Winter entertainment was hockey games, and we became avid Riverton Lions fans, attending many games. We well remember the buzz and excitement when this young hockey player, Reggie Leach, played with them—1962 or 1963.
We moved to the family farm near Biggar, Saskatchewan in the spring of 1964, but our interest in Reggie continued as he moved on to Flin Flon and then to the NHL. Our family all became Philadelphia Flyers fans! Our boys played local minor hockey and Emil was involved with coaching and/or managing their teams in Biggar throughout those years. When our son, Wendell, then 11-years-old, developed juvenile diabetes in March of 1977, his hockey season ended before their playoffs. He accepted his disease, with the new challenges, knowing that he would be able to play again next season, because (in his words), “Reggie’s teammate, Bobby Clark, has diabetes and he plays hockey!”
In the summer of 1977, we were in Arnes visiting my parents, August and Heida Sigurdson, and heard that Reggie often golfed at the Arnes Golf Course. The kids were excited that maybe they could get to see their idol! Luckily Reggie was there, and better still, he met us and posed for a picture with our four children: Jeri Lynne, Wendell, Jennifer and Warren, which I am enclosing. We now look forward to presenting each of them with a copy of ‘The Riverton Rifle.’
Congratulations to Mr. Leach on the publication of his biography and we wish him well in all his future endeavours. Our thanks to him for the beautiful memories and for the inspiration and love of hockey that he helped to instill in our children. They have each now passed this love of the sport down to their children—our 13 grandchildren.
Sincere thanks,
Marilyn and Emil Schnedar
Biggar, Saskatchewan
