Five years after the fire, the Norfolk Curling Club is thriving

By Leila Javitch

Back in December 2011, two teenagers on a drug-fueled rampage burned the Norfolk Curling Club to the ground. Now, five years later, it can boast of a remarkable recovery.

The gutted Curling Club, on the night of the fire, in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2011.

The club’s situation was drastic after the fire in 2011. The insurance policy had been kept up-to-date, but the total reimbursement would be only $760,000, and the estimated cost for reconstruction was between $1.3 and 1.5 million.

However, there was no hesitation about moving forward, according to Joe Hurst who sits on the Board of Directors. Under the leadership of Mary Fanette, a fund-raising committee was formed and community foundations were approached. The National Iron Bank arranged a mortgage. Other curling clubs and the Grand National Curling Club held raffles and sent donations. The Norfolk club embarked on its own fund-raising events including a winter wine-tasting fete and a summer garden tour, which are still given today.

A building committee was formed and many jumped on board. There was a sense of urgency: the longer the club remained closed, the more the membership would dwindle. There were 20 to 25 deeply committed members who weren’t scared off by what they realized would be thousands of hours of sweat equity. Much of the physical work of construction was carried out by stalwart members under the guiding hand of Russell Russ. They poured and set the cement ground below the ice surface and built the sidewalk around the ice rink. With advice from the ice making machinery company, Norfolk curlers laid the ice mat, or intricate maze of tubes thru which the cooling liquid flows to keep the ice cold. The refrigeration company’s owner, Jim Hibbard, had a long connection with the club and performed the labor on a loan arrangement that the club is still paying off.

A crew of Norfolk volunteers helps lay the ice mat during the rebuilding.

Although most were not curlers, many of Norfolk’s carpenters rolled up their sleeves to help line the shed’s cozy bar with wood paneling. Avid curler Jon Barbagallo, assumed the responsibility of Chief Ice Maker. With Hibbard’s help, he is in charge of making and maintaining the ice each season.

The builders broke ground in October 2012, and on November 20^th 2013, the new shed opened. Now, in 2016, the curling club is thriving. There are 130 members, most of whom “deliver the stone,” but there are also non-curling social members known as “plate-glass members.” On a recent Saturday the Grand National Curling Club was holding a Senior Women’s Bonspiel, or tournament (the word literally means “good play”), in which 14 women’s groups from the area were participating. There were many spectators.

The club’s renovation includes an attractive heated sitting area raised above the ice so games can be watched in comfort. There is a commercial kitchen in which volunteer cooks can rustle up hot meals for tournament players. On one wall is a brightly burning fireplace with comfortable sofas around it.

Several outreach programs are run by the club. Afternoon open houses are held to introduce the general public to curling. A two-hour “Learn to Curl” clinic is offered to interested individuals or groups about once a month. After school lessons on the ice for Botelle fourth- to sixth-graders will continue this season. And a junior program will start up again. Curlers will offer classes to numerous nearby public and private high school students and give them a chance to participate in selected bonspiels. Lifelong friendships have been formed among many of the early participants in the junior program.

In summary, after five years the Norfolk Curling Club is enjoying a great recovery and success. It is clear that the tragedy caused by arson galvanized the members of this remarkable club, who—with the help of well-wishers from Norfolk and beyond—rose to the challenge of rebuilding from the ground up.