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Curlers do their part to celebrate Prescott's bicentennial this year
Curlers do their part to celebrate Prescott's bicentennial this year
Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Curlers do their part to celebrate Prescott's bicentennial this year
Posted Jan 14, 2010BY ROY LEWIS St. Lawrence EMC
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Roy Lewis, St. Lawrence EMC
Neil Dufour is shown with the historic Wiser's Cup which will be awarded to the top curling team during the Wiser Cup Mixed Invitational Bonspiel.
EMC Events - An upcoming bonspiel at the Prescott Curling Club will incorporate an important aspect of the club's history, as well as that of the community.
On Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23, the club will host the Wiser Cup Mixed Invitational Bonspiel as part of the organization's activities in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Prescott this year. Up to a dozen teams are expected to participate in the bonspiel, which includes a wine and cheese event and supper.
But it is the top prize in the event that is of special interest to curlers, according to Neil Dufour who is organizing the bonspiel. The winning team will have its name engraved on the prestigious Wiser's Cup which was donated to the club more than 100 years ago by one of the town's most prominent families.
Dufour, who is a member of town council and the 200th anniversary committee, has been a member of the Prescott Curling Club since 1965 and thought it would be appropriate to hold a special bonspiel this year. As a director of the curling club, he also felt it would be appropriate for curlers to vie for the Wiser Cup, which was donated to the club by the leading Prescott family in 1906 and was the first competition trophy ever received by local curlers since forming their organization in 1893.
"Years ago, the cup was used during the regular club playdowns but it hasn't been used for a number of years," said Dufour.
Most of the 48 available spots for the bonspiel have now been filled but there is still room for two more teams, he said. The cost of entering the bonspiel is $30 per person, which also includes a lasagna dinner on Saturday evening. Curling will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22. A wine and cheese gathering and karaoke will also be held that evening starting at 8 p.m. Non-curlers can attend this event for a fee of $10. Curling will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday and conclude later in the day.
"This will be the main bonspiel of the current curling season, which will finish at the end of March," said Dufour.
Members of four teams in the competition will receive either a shirt or sweater. These prizes will be awarded on the basis of random draws so that everyone participating in the bonspiel will have a chance to win a prize.
But competition is expected to be keen for the privilege of winning the striking silver Wiser Cup.
"It is a beautiful, large trophy and we had the tarnish removed and now have it on public display at the club," said Dufour.
The cup was given to the club by John Philip Wiser who built a distilling empire in the town between the middle of the 1800s and the early 20th century. Wiser was born in 1825 in Trenton, New York, a small Oneida County community northeast of Syracuse. He initially worked for the Aversell and Egert distillery in upstate New York. When that company purchased the Payne Distillery in Prescott in 1857, Wiser was appointed general manager of the operation.
In the late 1850s, Prescott had developed as a major distillery operation with no less than four distilleries and other companies brewing beer. The town's location on a major water route and with access to major rail routes contributed to the growth of the distillery industry.
Five years after arriving in Prescott, Wiser purchased the distillery he had been sent to manage. It was a fortuitous move since the Civil War raging in the U.S. had seriously crippled the distilling industry in that country. Canadian distilleries found a huge market for top quality whiskey in the U.S.
Even after the war had ended, Wiser's business continued to grow and by 1873, the company was paying an incredible $2,000 a day in excise taxes for whiskey it was selling. At its peak, Wiser's was the third largest distillery in Canada.
Wiser also incorporated other businesses into his empire which once employed 140 workers in Prescott. Along with the distillery operations in the west end of town, Wiser had a nearby farm to produce the grains used in whiskey production and he owned a huge beef cattle operation in Kansas. He also owned some of the finest race horses in Canada.
Along with his business operations, Wiser also served in politics, first as a member of town council and then as Liberal MP in the House of Commons for Grenville South from 1878 to 1882. Wiser died in 1911 but the company, now known as Wiser's and Sons, continued under the direction of the firm's shrewd treasurer and businessman, Albert Whitney. However, with his death in 1917, the company was sold to the Corby's Distilling Company and, in 1932, production was moved to Belleville. Three whiskeys continue to be sold under the Wiser's and Sons label.
More information about the Wiser's Cup Bonspiel can be obtained by calling Neil Dufour at 613-925-4659.