The lobby of the Whitney Forum now includes a place to honour Flin Flon’s sporting past and present.
New memorabilia cabinets were officially unveiled to the public Oct. 27, along with a donation of historic sports items from a famed local collector to kick the exhibit off.
The start of the project came in 2020, when the existing trophy cabinets in the lobby at the Whitney Forum were replaced and the minor hockey trophies and memorabilia in them were moved away. From there, work was slow, but eventually, new trophy cabinets were built and installed in the arena.
Former city councillor and local historian Ken Pawlachuk oversaw the start of the project back then, hoping to have an exhibit to honour Flin Flon’s sporting history.
“A few years ago, we realized we needed a place to display memorabilia to honour some of Flin Flon’s greats,” said Pawlachuk.
Those cabinets remained mostly empty for some time, but plans were afoot to fill them with memorabilia from the Bombers, from local sports icons and different teams from the town’s history. Over time, Pawlachuk said he had reached out to people he knew had stashes of sports memorabilia they might be looking to send to a good home.
One of those people is Stewart Lloyd. A lifelong fan of the Bombers more commonly known by the hypocoristic “Stewie”, Lloyd collected items of Bomber paraphernalia for decades, but in his advancing age, he and his partner Rita were looking for a new place to keep some of the items. Most of the items currently on display belong to Lloyd or have come into his possession over the years.
Stewie was on hand for the introduction of the new exhibits and got to see a special plaque unveiled - this one, hanging above the cabinets, honours Stewie himself for keeping such a complete historical record of Flin Flon sports.
“I’ve been a Bomber guy since I was four years old. I’ve collected a lot of Bomber stuff that I’d like to show,” said Stewie.
“We want to have more stuff in here, because we have the rink in the world, the best people and everything else - thank you all.”
Pawlachuk, who grew up with Stewie, shared stories of how he began collecting.
“He’s donated most everything in the cabinet,” said Pawlachuk.
“Stewie and I grew up together on Hiawatha Avenue and Terrace - in the old days, when you would buy Beehive syrup, you could collect the paper tab on the top and send it back, and they’d send you a picture of an NHL player. Stewie was collecting them back then.”
Other items on display include items for the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Selects hockey team, including a jersey for the team, framed photos and plaques given as player awards from the team’s first year last season. There are nods to other sports stars too, such as the winning Team Manitoba from the 1967 Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant, which was made up mostly of paddlers from around Flin Flon. There are plans to honour the 1950s Hapnot Kopper Kweens basketball team, which won eight Manitoba basketball championships and was later inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame, along with other sports stars from yesteryear.
More items are on their way, thanks to another prominent Bomber alum - Pawlachuk reached out to Jordy Douglas, now the chairman of the board for the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, and replica display plaques for each Bomber honoured in the hall will be brought to the Whitney Forum. That will include players ranging from former NHL stars like Bobby Clarke, Reggie Leach and Blaine Stoughton to others including Douglas himself and pro stalwarts like Chuck Arnason, Al Hamilton, the late Gerry Hart, George Konik, Ray Neufeld, Duane Rupp, Ernie Wakely and others, including the 1957 Memorial Cup winning Bomber team. All told, 17 plaques - potentially more, if including players with Flin Flon roots who didn’t play for the Bombers - are expected to make their way north.
The committee in charge of the memorabilia chest is looking for further donations, either of items or donations to assist the project. Information can be forwarded through the Bombers, to current head coach and general manager Mike Reagan or to Pawlachuk.
