Summer 2003
The idea for this book
came about from a desire to see all of the racing jerseys side
by side somehow. As with most of the crazy things I get involved
with, I don't really remember at which point it turned into a
book, but nevertheless I decided to paint four of the jerseys
in watercolour as an experiment to see what they looked like.
The first four jerseys
were Burloak, Mic Mac, Gorge and Rideau. I realised then that
I could probably paint all of them and have a pretty decent collection
to share with people. What I failed to account for were the numerous
clubs that were no longer members of the CCA and the various
jerseys that were precursors to the current ones. As with any
collection, it would only be complete if *every* jersey were
accounted for.
Nationals
I decided to bundle up my designs and ideas, along with two draft
pages of what would eventually become the Banook and Mic Mac
entries, and travel to Welland to talk to people and get an idea
of what I was actually trying to do. There was a lot of interest
(and a lot of naysayers who just haven't got any creative objectivity)
and countless individuals and groups who stepped forward to add
information or provide images to be included in the book.
Summer 2004
With the book idea firmly in place, I was bound for the archives,
housed by Fred Johnston
in Kingston. I don't know how to explain this, but the overwhelming
feeling of joy at cracking open one of his boxes and discovering
a jersey or a logo or a medal that I had never seen before was
breathtaking. I knew that there was a lot of history in the
CCA, but never quite as much as this. I ended up in Kingston
three times to ensure I had all of my bases covered.
I also had the fortune
of visiting Mike
Scott of Ottawa, Dave
Findlay of Carleton Place and Bert
Oldershaw of Burlington, all
of whom opened up box after box of history and memorabilia for
me to peruse (among others). My scanner actually broke on one visit
and my wife had to run out and replace it for fear of losing these
long
sought-after
images.
I had tears in my eyes
when I learned of Bert's passing, for he was probably the keenest
of all those who supported me in my endeavours
and I was so looking forward to showing him the finished product.
I hope that he can see it now and know that he was instrumental
in making it happen.
Summer 2005
At Nationals in Montreal I was able to promote the book by selling
posters containing all of the jerseys I was able to track down
by June of that year. I put on as many unique jerseys as I was
able to find. Regardless of any missing or since-updated jerseys,
the poster is a wonderful snapshot of the colours in our association.
Unfortunately, the history is lost on some people who point
at the Ottawa jersey and laugh at the beaver emblazoned across
its chest. Ottawa was the first club to win the CCA championship.
They deserve our respect.
Spring 2006
In order to have the book ready to sell for the 2006 season, I
had it slated for publication in June. I delayed printing for
three weeks so that I could include the new Lac Sergent jersey.
And what a jersey it is - probably the most exciting one I had
the pleasure of painting.
So, here we are. I will
continue selling the book for as long as people are interested
in purchasing it, or for as long as I have copies. They will
run out eventually and I will never print a second run. This
is it. Considering that this book is one of a kind and a unique
portrait of everything amazing about our sport, I am proud of
it and proud of the efforts that I took to see it happen. I
know that there are a few mistakes and omissions that, in retrospect,
I might have been able to avoid if I had delayed printing even
further. I can only say that if I had delayed any further, there
was the risk that the book would never have been published at
all and I can only apologise to those whose names or achievements
were missed.
Thank-you to everyone
who contributed to making this publication a success and to
all those who have supported me in the venture.
