Like most boys growing up in Newfoundland, our Wintertime passion was playing hockey. A lot of that passion came from listening to the play-by-play broadcast of the hockey games on the radio. The voice of Foster Hewitt still echoes clearly in my mind. His distinctive voice bellowed from the broadcast gondola of Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto every Saturday night. Those were the days when the Toronto Maple Leafs occasional won the Stanley Cup. We couldn't wait for the ponds, and even flooded water holes in the garden, to freeze over and we would lace up our skates and play a game of shinny.<br /> <br /> In time the temperature plummeted and the bay would freeze over as well. At first the salt water ice was soft and not good for skating. Then we would have a mild with some rain and snow and soon the freshwater, harder ice covered the softer ice and the time for playing hockey and pleasure skating had arrived. We would spend hours enjoying the cold outdoors. With cold hands and feet we would get home in time for supper, maybe a meal of potato salad with baked beans and fresh homemade bread covered with molasses - that was one of my favourites. I'm sorry, but I'm licking my lips right now!<br /> <br /> Most of us couldn't afford a decent hockey stick. So we would use some crude stick, whatever we could find. Once in awhile someone would show up with a real hockey stick. This made the rest of us a bit envious. My grandfather saw the desire of his grandson, &quot;Good gawd&quot; he would say, &quot;the young fellar needs a good hockey stick!&quot;, so he set out to make me one. He searched the wooded property behind our house until one day he found a birch tree with a nice curve, this was ideal for the project. By using only hand tools he carved out this amazing hockey stick. I was so proud to receive it, and the day I showed up to play a game everyone was envious of my stick. I could play like a real player now and maybe score the occasional goal.<br /> <br /> One of my buddies was John, the pastor's son. He liked to challenge me in the game. He followed his father's footsteps and got involved in church ministry as well. Many years later I was now living in the Toronto area and I saw an ad in the newspaper that there was going to be special singing group at a particular church and my old buddy John was going to be the speaker. I immediately told my wife that we have to go to this service, and we did. After the service was all finished I saw John standing at the front. I went up to speak to him. I stood right in front of him and said, &quot;Hello John, take a good look at me, and tell me who I am?&quot; I really didn't expect him to recognize me after so long a time not seeing each other. He sized me up and down for a bit and then he said, &quot;You are the guy with the birch hockey stick.&quot; Well, he just floored me with that response! He went on to say, &quot;I still have scars on my legs from that stick, and I never watch a hockey game without thinking of you.&quot; I figured that was a stretch!<br /> <br /> In more recent years reminiscing with other buddies when I see them from that era, many of them relay the same comments as John. I figure I came by it honestly though. After all Eddie Shack was one of my favourite players at the time. As it says in the Eddie Shack song by sportscaster Brian McFarlane, &quot;Clear the track, here comes Shack, he knocks them down, and gives them whack.&quot;<br /> <br /> When I left Laurenceton, NL in 1964 and came to Toronto I left the birch hockey stick behind, that treasured gift from my granddad. I expect it became kindling for the kitchen stove sometime later.<br /> <br /> Today I'm a granddad with my own grandchildren, some who play hockey. One of my greatest pleasures now is going to their games and cheering them on. And it's a pleasure to lace up my skates again and have a game of shinny with them. In the picture I face-off with my granddaughter Elizabeth on a pond behind their property. And I might add they all have great hockey sticks and there's no need for me to go into the woods in search of a birch one. And I'm still a Toronto Maple Leaf fan, &quot;Go Leafs Go - The Stanley Cup in looming on the horizon - soon to be yours!&quot;<br /> <br /> Calvin Perry, Oshawa, ON<br /> formally from Laurenceton, NL <br />   Submitted By: Calvin Perry