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Friday, May 25 • 2012
Vol. 4 • Issue 94
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The
Mighty
FAC
With legendary local sports icons like Slim Porter, the Fairview Athletic Club dominated the scene for more than three decades. This summer some of the gang that kicked up dust on the diamond and heated up rinks in the winter will reunite to talk about the old days... story by Greg Nesteroff
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F
or over 35 years, the Fairview Athletic Club taught young athletes the value of teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship. It cultivated character and molded mindsets. Now, some of those kids — long since grey haired — are getting back together. “I thought of it because I’m tired of reading obituaries of old buddies,” says Al Dawson, who’s spearheading the reunion, tentatively scheduled for August 27 to coincide with a reunion of the Nelson high school classes of 1952 and ‘53. “We’ve been talking about it
Fairview Athletic Club baseball team at a Fruitvale tournament, 1950s. Back row: Al Dawson, Gord Halsey, Frank Elsener, Lionel Kearns, Larry Hendrickson, coach Slim Porter. Front row: John Moore, Arnie Sherwood, Wilf Marquis, Tom Marshall.
for 10 years and we better get it done before we don’t have anybody left.” Dawson has tracked down 28 former club members and confirmed at least 18 will attend, including four in their 90s. “They’re sharp as a tack and more eager than some of the younger guys,” he says. “They’ll all be treated as special guests.” Some alumni are still in Nelson, while others are scattered across the continent, including poet Lionel Kearns of Vancouver
Home Owners helping home owners
COURTESY AL DAWSON
and Frank Elsener, of Eugene, Oregon, who ended up in the food business and helped turn popcorn king Orville Redenbacher into a household name. Kearns, Elsener and Gordon Halsey, of Victoria, have been working with Dawson to find other old club members and organize the reunion. Dawson himself pitched for FAC in the early 1950s and says it not only helped him hone his skills, but set him on a steady path for life.
“It kept me out of the bars and maybe jail. Everywhere I went, I joined a ball team. Through sports connections, I had associates and friends.”
I
SLIM PORTER WAS MR. FAC
ts origins are murky, but we know the Fairview Athletic Club formed in 1920. It was just one of several club teams in Story continues to ‘A life’ on Page 8