Longtime Uni Watch reader Will Scheibler, who lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, often finds fun items in his local thrift store to share with me. He recently outdid himself by sending me a big box of thrifted items, most of them curling-related, including the beautiful pins shown above. Magnificent!
Will also sent along one non-curling pin. It’s for the great Canadian sport of five-pin bowling, and holy moly is it a beauty:
Next up is a pair of novelty “curling humor” ashtrays (which remind me of the famous “Futuro House” in Pensacola, Fla.):
I love these, but there’s something annoying about having two of something — I feel like I need to find at least one more from this series in order to make it a bona fide collection!
Will also included a pair of very nice curling trophies. I particularly like the ridged/textured sweater on the first one:
Now comes my Very Favorite Thing in the whole box: a figurine of a curling chimp! Completely absurd and amazing. I will treasure this little guy until the day I die:
For the more literature-inclined, there’s a selection of curling books, plus a bonus book about hockey uniform numbers:
Next up is a, uh, imaginatively designed curling jersey in Uni Watch colors:
Gotta stay hydrated by drinking from a curling-themed mug:
Will also sent along a nice scarf/mitten set from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts bonspiel:
There’s also this gorgeous curling sweater in a deep, saturated shade of green. I’ll no doubt be wearing this around town a lot when the weather gets a bit chillier:
If you look closely at the placket, you can see that it’s actually a women’s sweater (it buttons right over left), but it fits me fine. As you can also see, it’s missing a button, which I’ll have to replace. I doubt I’ll be able to find an exact match, though, because the original buttons have a curling design stamped into them! Check this out:
The sweater also has a great interior label:
Well-memoried readers may recall that this isn’t the first curling sweater Will has given me. I’m humbled by his generosity! Thanks so much, Will.
Meanwhile, if this is any indication of what thrifting in Canada is like, that alone might justify a move north. Hmmmm.
Man, that’s an impressive thrift store haul. Everything looks awesome, but I especially love the curling mug.
I immediately googled it and ordered one.
What a treasure trove you received! The mug and the chimp are priceless, but that sweater is really incredible: those buttons, that label. Hec Gervais is the best name ever since Frankie Lasagna.
As a fellow resident of Thunder Bay, and a curler myself, I love this collection of gear. Thanks for sharing to both Will and Paul. Will and I should organize a Uni-watch meet up – Thunder Bay. Maybe at the Fort William Curling Club.
I would love that — you guys should definitely do it!
Morning Jordan!
I just thought I’d reach out as an old NWOnt guy. I was in Atikokan for most of the 90s before moving to Winnipeg. Curled at most of the clubs across the region, including a bunch of bonspiels at Port Arthur. Went to a lot of Whiskeyjacks games!
I haven’t been back in a while (pandemic) but planning to get the kids to Quetico next summer. Have fun at the meetup!
As a former Lakeheader, I’m always happy to see Thunder Bay activity and this was a motherlode of awesomeness. I’ll be back in town for Christmas and wow, maybe more curling chimps abound!
what are the dates you’re back…I’m thinking of organizing a Thunder Bay meet up.
I never got into the curling craze, but wow, some of that stuff is great. I absolutely love the mug. The plates are also spectacular.
“the great Canadian sport of five-pin bowling”
I wasn’t aware of this. Is there no 5-pin bowling at all in the U.S.?
Not that I’m aware of. We do have candlepin bowling, duckpin bowling, and feather bowling (which isn’t really bowling), but I’m not aware of fivepins anywhere in the States.
It is, in fact, uniquely Canadian. Invented in Toronto in the early 1900s.
The mug, A++.
Just what Paul needs…more pins ; )
Futuro Houses: there’s a dilapidated one in S. Jersey not far from Philly:
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Paul, just as a curiosity, if and when you replace the button on the curling sweater, will you move the bottom button up one spot so the replacement is at the end of the line, or just live with a different one in the middle of the rest? Interested to know what your brain will accept as correct.
Hadn’t thought of doing that, but that’s not a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
It’s common to leave the bottom button of a cardigan unbuttoned so you could always just remove that one. You could remove the top button and use a pin of some sort to close the top. If it was me I would probably replace the bottom one with a matching plain green button and would be happy with that. In any case it looks great!
You know, I usually leave the bottom button unbuttoned. But I didn’t this time because I was so focused on doing the buttons “backwards” (because it’s a women’s sweater). I forgot all about that! That’s a really good solution — thanks!
Just amazing stuff!!! What a haul!
Ah, the great Hec Gervais. Two-time Canadian Curling Champion and 1961 World Champion. He was a large man with the nickname “The Friendly Giant,” and some very-solid sideburns. An iconic name in Canadian curling.
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Are the thrift shops in Canada just that good?
Yes. Yes they are.
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My Grandparents moved from Italy to Schrieber Ontario which is very close to Terrace Bay and a couple of hours south of Thunder Bay so I am very familiar with the area.
Gorgeous and mighty Lake Superior!
I would switch to drinking hot coffee just to use that mug. How cool!
All items were used except the Tournament of Hearts scarf & mitts. Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Canadian Women’s Curling Championship) was in Thunder Bay in 2022, but due to COVID essentially wasn’t open to the general public. Largest local mall had a shop that included a small table with some Tournament of Hearts clothing at the time.
Somewhat surprisingly I have yet to try curling. I’ve watched it (mostly on television) but have yet to play it. Only sports I currently play are hockey and slo-pitch. As far as organized team sports, besides those two, as a kid and adult I’ve only tried lacrosse, indoor and outdoor soccer, ski team, and adult touch football.
Looked up the moose green and yellow curling shirt/jersey online. Looks like it was likely designed and produced by this company as part of their Northern Ontario “fear the moose” series:
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Thanks for the backgrounder, Will. And thanks again for sharing all these wonderful items with me! (As you know, there’s an additional item I didn’t mention in this post — saving that for next spring!)
This teaser is killing me….
Will…check out the post I just made in the discussion forum…let’s see if we can make a meet up happen.