Hear this story as reported on Tantramar Report:
A small crowd gathered on Wednesday evening in the mezzanine of the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the facility.
Tantramar’s Active Living Director Matt Pryde emceed the evening, which included an excerpt of a play about Sackville speed skating legend Chester Cole, music by Christine Gilroy, and remarks from officials, including Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black.
“The building started as a dream to many great volunteers,” said Black, “some of whom are here tonight. And here we are 20 years later, and the Civic Centre has truly become a hub of activity for this community.”
Black listed a wide variety of events that the Civic Centre has hosted over the years, from hockey and roller derbies to model train shows and circuses. He touted the recent addition of exercise equipment meant for use of parents during ice season, and the newly refurbished Sackville Sports Wall, both housed in the Mezzanine overlooking the rink. “And we have managed to keep our ice costs much lower than most other New Brunswick arenas,” said Black, “making it affordable and accessible to as many people and Tantramar as possible.”
Black also said there’s more improvements to come, including the conversion of a small office off the Mezzanine to a community space, and a refresh to the “look and feel of the building”.
MLA Megan Mitton was unable to attend Wednesday’s ceremony in person, but gave a shout out to the anniversary in the legislature this week.
Although three levels of government contributed $1 million each toward the construction of the civic centre, another $1.2 million dollars was fundraised to make project a reality and to fully outfit the arena, which was a work in progress even after it opened in 2004.
Former Sackville town councillor Joyce O’Neil was one of those who worked to bring home the dollars needed to finish the centre. O’Neil coordinated the wall of bricks, and sought out advertising from regional businesses to help outfit the centre.
“It was hours to work, but I loved every minute of it,” said O’Neil at the event. “At that time, Mount Allison was doing away with Allison Gardens,” recalled O’Neil, which “would have left the town without a rink.”
“We needed a place like this,” she recalled.
‘We want a rink’
Peter Mesheau also recalled the strong desire for a rink in Sackville at the time. Mesheau served as Tantramar MLA from 1997 to 2006.
“I remember going to town council and [saying], you need some work on your water system… We don’t have a lot of loot, but how about some infrastructure? And they said, Peter, we want a rink.”
“They were very together. It wasn’t like one of them saying this, [and another that.] They [were] all in unison: We want a rink,” recalled Mesheau. “We took direction from the folks at ground zero, town council… And then we ran with it.”
“It’s an example of when three levels of government actually pull together to create a synergy that makes something happen,” says Mesheau. “There was Dominic LeBlanc, federal. He kicked in a million. The province kicked in a million, and the town kicked in a million. And it was done collectively.”
“So when people cooperate, including politicians, you can get stuff done,” said Mesheau. “And this got done because of that.”
Mesheau said in the end the civic centre proved to be much more than just a rink. “It’s a glue pot. It keeps the community together,” he said.
Honouring Sackville and New Brunswick’s sports heroes
The 20th anniversary event didn’t just celebrate the Civic Centre, but also the return of the Sackville Sports Wall of Fame, a series of portraits honouring Sackville’s sports greats over the years. Faced with a space crunch to accommodate the growing portrait gallery, Sackville staff took down the Sports Wall just before the pandemic, and had the portraits reframed by Sackville’s Fog Forest Gallery. But with the Civic Centre used by health officials throughout the early pandemic years, the Sports Wall’s return was delayed until recently.
Tantramar Deputy Mayor Greg Martin sits as a municipal representative on the board that oversees the sports wall, and took a moment on Wednesday to say a few words, highlighting the importance of sport in his own life, growing up in Green Hill, across the highway from Aulac.
“It started when I was probably 13 or 14,” recalled Martin, “and I’d get down on the highway and hitchhike from Aulac so I could go to Bob Edgett’s Boxing Club, twice a week. And it didn’t matter if it rained,” recalled Martin, “I was determined I was going to the boxing club.”
Martin said his mother sent him to Bob Edgett’s to help him gain confidence, something he would later do for his own foster kids, with other sports like soccer and football. “A lot of the kids that came to my house never had an opportunity to be involved in any kind of sport,” said Martin. “So sports got to be important at my house.”
The Sackville Sports Wall of Fame will induct two new honourees this year in a ceremony at the Civic Centre on June 25. Even sooner, Sackville will host the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where six new provincial sports heroes will be honoured. That ceremony will take place June 1 at Convocation Hall on the Mount Allison cmapus, and tickets are available at the Tantramar municipal office, Jean Coutu, or the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame website.
