Topic spans: 1947 - 1998
Curling: Sweeping the Nation
Whether they play for fun in small-town clubs or for glory at the winter Olympics, one thing's for certain: Canadians love curling, and they've produced some of the world's best players. Though some have called it "shuffleboard on ice," supporters say it's a game with a grand Canadian tradition of skill, strategy, and sportsmanship.
Topic photo from Wikimedia Commons, by Glenlarson, is in the public domain. "Sweeping" photo by Matthew Bradley is from Flickr Creative Commons.
6 television clips
8 radio clips
Beef and greens
Broadcast Date: May 16, 1967
Canada is celebrating 100 years as a nation, but Canadians have been curling for a lot longer than that. In this short film created by the CBC for the Centennial, author and curling enthusiast W.O. Mitchell takes a look back at curling's Scottish origins, its adoption by Canadians, and how the game is played today.Beef and greens
• Curling goes back a long way in Canada, played first on frozen lakes and rivers by a Scots regiment who were part of Wolfe's army in 1759. It's said they melted down cannonballs or used the hubcaps from their gun carriages to make curling stones. Their legacy continued — until the 1950s, Quebecers were still playing with metal curling "irons" while the rest of the country used granite stones.• The Montreal Curling Club is the oldest in Canada, dating back to 1807 when twenty Scottish merchants got together to play on the river behind their businesses. Afterwards, they'd meet at a local tavern for traditional beef and greens.
• "Beef and greens" is the meal both teams would consume after a game of curling. It was usually washed down with whisky and paid for by the losers. Varying accounts say the beef in question was salted, boiled, or corned beef, and though there's no word on what the greens were, cabbage seems likely.
• Most curling clubs in Canada (and the world) are affiliated with the Royal Caledonian Curling Club of Edinburgh. Considered the "mother club" of curling, the RCCC was founded in 1838 as the Grand Caledonian Curling Club to establish the rules of curling. Five years later, it was given its "Royal" designation after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert observed a demonstration of the sport on the polished ballroom floor of Scone Palace in Scotland.
• William Ormond Mitchell, 1914-1998, was born in Weyburn, Sask., and is most famous for his novel Who Has Seen the Wind, written in 1947. In 1951 he produced the radio play The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, and later adapted it as a stage play and a novel. It's the story of a small-town cobbler who makes a deal with the Devil to win the Brier.
Beef and greens
Medium: Television
Program: 20/20
Broadcast Date: May 16, 1967
Guest(s):
Narrator: W.O. Mitchell
Duration: 19:18
Last updated:
April 12, 2004
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14 clips in this topic . page
Radio
6:50
The veteran Canadian curler has finally led his team to a world championship victory in 2008 and he's hopeful for similar success at the 2010 Olympics.
Radio
7:54
Michelle Kelly captures bronze at the 2005 world championships in Calgary.
Beef and greens.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: April 12, 2004.
[Page consulted on Feb. 9, 2010.]