1999 Inductees
Paul Roderick Bethune 1941-1987
Warm, quiet, effective leadership – these were the attributes most commonly used to describe Paul Bethune. He was widely known and respected as a master teacher, a guiding friend to youth and for his dedication and commitment to his community.
Orlay Bligh
In that brief peaceful period between the Depression and the start of World War II, no other athlete thrilled and fascinated sports fans in the Annapolis Valley and throughout Nova Scotia more than the dashing and flamboyant Orlay Bligh. Major Fred Kelly, his coach at Acadia University, called him one of Acadia’s greatest athletes. It was said that no one could play baseball, football, and hockey like Orlay Bligh and no one could fight like Orlay Bligh. But it was in hockey that he made his greatest impact.
Jon Howard Margeson
Dedicated family man, star athlete, educator, coach and leader – Jon Margeson carried on a life long interest in and commitment to athletics in his community and in the schools where he served as teacher and administrator.
Gary Whittier
A Halifax sportswriter once penned these lines. “In the 1960’s and 70’s, softball was the Annapolis Valley’s number 1 sport, and Berwick’s Gary Whittier was the king who ruled the empire”. In the same article, Gary was described as “a crafty southpaw with pinpoint control and a wicked changeup”. During the heyday of fast pitch softball in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes during the 1960’s and 70’s, Gary Whittier was one of the top pitchers in the sport and perhaps the best left-handed pitcher in the country.
Earle Eugene Kinsman
In the late 1930’s prior to the Second World War, boxing enjoyed great popularity in Nova Scotia. One of the fighters that sports fans crammed tiny arenas to watch was the battling farm boy from Welsford, Earle Kinsman.
Dr Roy A Moreash
Dr. Roy Moreash, an outstanding scholar at the Halifax County Academy and later Dalhousie University, graduated from medical school in 1931, receiving the Lindsay prize for highest standing in medicine. After several years of general practice in Cape Breton and Kentville, he moved to Berwick in 1934 where he served the community and area as physician and surgeon for the next forty years.
1973 Senior Ladies' Curling Team
One of the most popular winter sports in Berwick since the 1950’s has been curling. It was particularly popular during the 1960’s and 70’s when Berwick had very competitive teams in a number of curling divisions. Most major curling tournaments at the time were, and continue to this day to be, dominated by rinks from large curling clubs in the major urban areas. This fact makes the achievement of the 1973 Senior Ladies’ Curling team from Berwick all the more remarkable.
1967 Berwick High School Senior Girls Basketball Team
Winning a provincial championship is a tremendous achievement for any high school but when your team comes from one of the smallest high schools in Nova Scotia, it is all the more remarkable.
1962 Berwick Legion Curling Team
One of the more interesting stories in the sports history of Berwick involves the 1962 Berwick Legion Curling Team – a team that won a provincial championship when it didn’t have a home rink in which to play or practice. According to team members, the story of the Berwick Legion curling championship team really began in the mid 1950’s. At that time, Berwick had no curling rink of their own but through the generosity of the neighboring Middleton Curling Club; Berwick curlers were able to use their facilities several times a week. Among this group of dedicated Berwick curlers were four who decided to enter a team in the eligibility depended on being a Legion member and a member of a curling club. Thus, started the curling adventures of George Adams, Jim Barrett, Rod Bethune, and Reg Stevens.
1961 Berwick Legionnaires Fast Pitch Softball
In the 1960’s Berwick fielded some of the most balanced and strongest softball teams in Nova Scotia, winning several Nova Scotia and Maritime titles in several different divisions. All of these teams were composed of essentially the same core of players – all homegrown talent from Berwick and surrounding areas. Perhaps the strongest of these teams was the 1961 Berwick Legionnaires.
1936-37 Berwick Bruins Hockey Team
During the 1930’s when Senior hockey reigned supreme, attracted the greatest athletes, and was the biggest draw in town in amateur sports, the accomplishments of the 1936 – 37 Berwick Bruins Hockey team rates as great achievement for a small Nova Scotia town.