If the people of a community are its lifeblood, then a rec centre serves as its beating heart, and nowhere is this more true than in Rainy River.
The Rainy River Rec Centre and Arena has served as the central hub of the community of Rainy River for decades, since its inception through to today. Playing host to countless community events, including hockey games, socials, plays, activities both indoor and outdoor, an exercise space and beyond, the Rainy River Rec Centre has impeded itself into the very fabric of what makes Rainy River the place it is, as well as into the hearts of those who live there.
“Back when I was a kid, to me it felt like the Rainy River Rec was the heart of the community,” said Lindsay Bourre, resident of Rainy River and Rec Coordinator at the Centre since June 10, 2024.
“I remember events always going on like Railroad Daze, the walleye tournament, figure skating, soccer, tae kwon do, the cardboard boat races, the winter carnival and the pumpkin festival. The Rec was always packed with kids and parents.”
While Bourre has only been working at the Centre for a short time, she’s part of a legacy that spans generations. Her father Rick worked at the Rec Centre, and family legend has her grandfather’s name written among the rafters from when the indoor ice surface was built and added onto the Rec Centre in the 1960’s. Beyond just working at the Centre, Bourre’s family has taken part in the events and other goings-on happening in and around the building, like many, many others who call Rainy River home have been doing for decades.
According to local historian Marg Thompson’s book “Rainy River: Our Town, Our Lives,” released to commemorate the town’s 75th anniversary in 1979, the Rec Centre was originally built in 1953, with initial planning and fundraising going back to 1945.
“On November 20, well over 400 adults and children from town and surrounding areas attended the grand opening of the Rainy River Community Centre,” Thompson wrote.
“W.G. Mitchell was chairman and guest speaker was W.G. Noden, M.L.A. for the Rainy River District. Then a concert followed.”
While the centre would go up to great fanfare, it would be another decade before an indoor ice surface was built and added onto the existing building in the 1960s. Thompson wrote that Mitchell, a former manager for the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Rainy River, and who died in July 1963, had been the original visionary for the community centre project, and who had additionally helped to ensure that the centre and arena could be built separately but connect and share services. That arena, completed in January 1963, realized Mitchell’s vision and brought to completion a project which would remain an indelible part of the culture of Rainy River for the following six decades.
“Numerous able and willing planners and workers had contributed to this outstanding group of buildings which house the various sports activities but not one would hesitate to say that the founder of this entire project and without whom the plan would never have got off the ground was W.G. Mitchell,” Thompson wrote.
The opening of an indoor arena was a significant event for the families of Rainy River. Before the arena was built, the only ice surfaces to be played upon were outdoor rinks or the river, which itself provided a less than ideal ice surface to skate upon between warm weather turning ice to slush, or cracks in the river ice. Residents who remember the days before the arena will not downplay how revelatory the new building was in their young eyes.
“It was like Disneyland,” said Marty Sisk, reflecting on the then-newly-built arena.
“It was as good as Disneyland for us. We didn’t know the difference. It was magic.”
Today that sense of magic is as alive as it has ever been as the community continues to host events and celebrations that put the Rec Centre at the heart of things. Bourre recalls such events growing up, as well as the lasting impressions they had on her, which may or may not have had something to do with her eventual career path.
“I’ll never forget the Pumpkin Man,” Bourre said.
“The Pumpkin Man always arrived on the pumpkin festival. The Pumpkin Man stood about 10 feet tall. That’s how tall it felt like to me when I was five years old. It was probably more like seven feet. It was the creepiest thing I ever saw. That costume shoulda been in scary movies. It had a big orange pumpkin-like head with a really bad face paint job. Later on in life I found out from my dad, Rick Bourre, that he wore the pumpkin man costume and his favourite thing was watching the kids face reactions when they saw this thing coming. The cardboard boat races were always a blast too. Me, my dad and friends would quite regularly put a cardboard boat in the event.”
Sixty years is a long time for any building, and the Rainy River Rec Centre and Arena are no exceptions. While the building is still up and running, with activities planned for the summer and the 120th Anniversary celebrations, there’s no denying some work and essential equipment replacement has to be done. In recent years thousands of dollars have been spent on repairs to various pieces of equipment, and currently the Rec Centre is facing a $750,000 cost to replace the existing ice plant, which is well past its prime. However,and working in its favour, the building is near and dear to residents’ hearts, as Bourre has already re-discovered in her short time on the job.
“After only being here a few weeks I already feel the love from the community,” she said.
“There are so many committees in our little town and I’m learning how we all work together to make big events possible for everyone to enjoy. There are so many heroes in this town who volunteer their time to make these awesome events we have possible.”
With some luck and a little bit of the determination from the community that brought the buildings to life in the first place, there’s no doubt Rainy River will continue to enjoy their Rec Centre for decades more to come.
