RINGETTE RETURNS TO THE ICE Pages 10

Continued from Page 10 The association has close to 50 years of history in Paris dating back to 1976 when it was formed. “We have a lot of dedicated players within our organization, and we are proud of each and every one of them,” said Mayhew, as she reflected on the season so far. “They are always giving their all on the ice at each and every game. There is lots of talent within all the teams we have. ” Ringette, which was created in North Bay, Ontario in 1963, is now considered to be the fastest game on ice. It is played internationally in half a dozen other countries around the world. Like hockey, Ringette is played with six players on the ice with an objective to score goals. However, that is where the similarities end. Players pass a rubber ring with a straight stick, there is no intentional body contact and game time is split between two 20-minute periods. “It’s a wonderful sport that teaches the true meaning of working as a team as it is a whole team effort that gets the ring down the ice,” said Mayhew, who is just transitioning into a presidential role with the organization this year. She encourages interested players to attend an open house event in the spring to learn more about the sport. “We will post on our website and social media accounts, so look out for those dates and how to sign up,” she said.

News from the Friendliest House in Town!

Curlers in the house! Members of the Paris Curling Club returned to league play this month. Pictured to the left are Bryan Kueneman, Joe Azzopardi and Brian Azzopardi during Tuesday Night Choose Your Own League.

Photo by Casandra Turnbull

The winners of the Paris Curling Club Afternoon Ladies John Hall Draw are from left to right: Frances Campbell, skip; Eleanor Dutkewich, vice and Brenda Baler, second. Missin g from the photo is Deb Rapelje, lead. Special thankyou to John Hall of Paris for sponsoring the draw.

We have our 2022 Super Bowl reader poll winner!! Joan Hilker of Paris. Joan commented LA to Win on our post in the group “All Things Paris” on Facebook. We don’t know if the LA Rams will win the Super Bowl but one thing’s for sure - Joan and her family will be enjoying their victory with local snacks and Super Bowl merchandise from The Paris Independent News! Congratulations Joan!

Above: Joan Hilker accepting her prize package at her home in Paris Wednesday. Photo by Cindy Whelan

Did you know?

Reader Poll Results: 68% say Bengals For the WIN!

Super Bowl LV was the first time a participating team played in its home stadium? To avoid giving any team an advantage, locations are announced years in advance, so it was coincidence that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the championship game in their home stadium. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the full crowd affect because the stadium was only 30% full in accordance with public health guidelines. Super Bowl got its name thanks to former Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt who named it after his children’s toy called a Super Ball. Super Bowl wasn’t well received when it was first pitched, but it caught on through word of mouth and the media. The average cost of a ticket to the 1967 Super Bowl was only $12! The Pittsburgh Steelers were the first Super Bowl winners to visit the White House in 1980. The longstanding tradition was adopted by other sports leagues long before the NFL jumped on board with the tradition. The first MLB White House visit was documented in 1924. Interestingly enough, no sitting president has ever attended a Super Bowl game. Since its inception in 1967, not a year has gone by without a Super Bowl. There are 12 teams that have never won a Super Bowl: Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings. Super Bowl LI played in 2017 was the first Super Bowl game to go into overtime. The Patriot overcame a 25-point deficit to push the game into overtime, ultimately winning 34-28 over theAtlanta Falcons.

Pictured above is assistant captain of the U13 team, Jared Biro, as he battles with a Twin Centres player Thursday evening. Paris won 2-0.

Wolfpack Playoff Hockey

The Under 13 Paris Optimist Rep team defeated Twin Centres during playoff hockey this week. They lost earlier in the week to Delhi 4-2. Pictured above is Andrew Graham celebrating a goal. To the left is Noah Connolly making a save for Paris.

All photos by Michelle Malvaso

Pictured above, U11 player Xavier Cormier controlled the middle of the ice during Thursday’s loss to Ayr. Cormier is the top scorer for the U11 team, coming off a hat trick in Delhi earlier this week. To the left, Jared Rossi and Jax Ferguson were on the hunt all game. Jared celebrated his 11th birthday by scoring Paris’ first goal of the evening. It also put him in a two-way tie for the most points so far this season.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR SERVICE CLUBS?

Meet The Lions Club as they take you down a historical walk that highlights how they’ve served Paris residents for over 90 years. The Paris Independent will feature their story over the next three weeks, so stay tuned!

CHANT OF THE JUNGLE By Lion Diane McHutchion

The year 1931 saw the Great Depression affect every walk of life in Canada, from large cities to small towns like Paris. Unemployment rose to 32%, low incomes were the norm, and our inadequate social welfare system made life almost unbearable for many people.

Despite all these challenges and with the sponsorship of the Brantford Lions Club, a group of community minded individuals formed the Paris Lions Club. Our first Club consisted of 31 members. These first members consisted mostly of businessmen, but also included doctors, a dentist, a high school principal, a lawyer and a minister. The first meeting was held at the Arlington Hotel on March 16, 1931. From an article in The Paris Star, dated July 25th , 1935, one reads that the most ambitious program for civic improvement in Paris was the creation of Lions Park. Because of the planning and organization done by the Paris Lions Club, children had a properly supervised and modern playground. A wading pool was later installed, built to accommodate 350 children at one time.

The final deed of land occupied by this park was given to the Mayor of Paris on September 11, 1935. This land was originally purchased by the Lions Club from the Capron Estate.

Even though the Lions Park Project was a major undertaking for the Club, it did not interfere with the regular work of the Club. This included aiding underprivileged children, whether it be vision testing, furnishing eyeglasses, eyecare, tonsil and other operations, supplying milk where needed, plus bringing cheer at Christmas, and generally adding to the health and happiness for those in need during the 1930s....a decade of incredible economic stress and uncertainty.

The Second World War saw 1 in 10 Canadians enlisted in full time service in the armed services. This included approximately 450 citizens from the Paris area, Sadly, 38 young Paris men did not return to their families.

The Lions Club of Paris stepped up to contribute to the health and well-being of the citizens of Paris right through the war years. These contributions included providing eyeglasses and eye surgery, dental surgery, tonsil operations, almost 32,000 pints of milk, gallons of cod liver oil, sending boys and girls to camp, and sports expenditures. Our Club focused on children during these years, knowing that a mother and/or

Above: Lions Park postcard circa 1935. The Lions Club orchestrated the installation of a playground first (behind pool area) and later installed the wading pool that could accommodate 350 children. Below: A family enjoys a cold beverage at Lions Park, circa 1950s. Seventy years later families still enjoy picnics and swims at Lions Park.

father were either serving overseas or working away from home. Right here in Paris, a group of children, called the Coney Island Club (ages 6-15) held a bazaar and raised an amazing $72.00. This small group, after much discussion, decided to donate this money to the Paris Lions Club after they heard that our Club was giving much thought to the creating of a swimming pool in Lions Park. This truly speaks to the community support for Lions Park and our Lions Club!