A Slam Dunk Show: Basketball visitors from afar
I
n 1947, Brooks High School hosted a rare event when the Harlem Globetrotters played an exhibition game against Powell River’s Teen Town Trotters. The game was the talk of the town, with a large public turn out. A highlight of the game was player Boid Buie who had lost an arm in a car accident as a teenager. Buie continued to play his favourite sport after his accident; he had words of advice for similarly disabled kids: “If you really want to play your favourite sport, you can.” The 1947 game was hardly a first or a last for Powell River. Over the decades, a number of famous American basketball teams made the trip to town. In 1946, the Kansas City Stars basketball team travelled to Powell River for some fun on the court. The team was accompanied by famed track and field
problem solved.
BLAST FROM THE PAST DEVAN GILLARD Olympian Jesse Owens. Owens gave a short half-time talk at the high school about juvenile delinquency before recounting his experiences in Berlin’s 1936 Summer Olympics. He even gave the crowd a demonstration of the high jump. Owens said during an interview with Powell River
HOOP DREAMS: Top, Harlem globetrotters vs. Powell River’s Teen Town Trotters at Brooks High school, 1947. Left, Jessie Owens demonstrating the high jump at Brooks, 1946. Above, members of the visiting Kansas City basketball team in Powell River.
Photo courtesy of the qathet Museum & Archives
News reporter Curly Hird that his treatment in Canada was “Grade A” and that “folks in the smaller towns were real people.” Later, in 1968, the Harlem Clowns played exhibition games against the Powell River Lakers. They returned again in 1970. The games were well received by the townspeople. Both the crowd and those on the court considered the matches good fun, where the point wasn’t to win but to laugh and have a good time. Devan Gillard is an administrative assistant at the qathet Historical Museum & Archives.
full cycle bookkeeping advisory & strategic planning training • personal tax preparation
Registered Massage Therapy
heatherbooks.ca Unit 5 - 4726 Marine Avenue (236) 328-0328 • info@heatherbooks.ca
236-328-1200 • 4518 Joyce Avenue We direct bill with Pacific Blue Cross
44 March 2024 • qathetliving.ca
Book now at kostaliwellness.ca