During his 50-plus years of skate sharpening, local legend Frank Dymock would always take the donations he gathered in his jar and hand over the funds to support hockey in Wallaceburg.
Now in Frank’s honour, a local business has done the same.
For six weeks prior to the annual Frank Dymock Classic Tournament in Wallaceburg last month, Canadian Tire in Wallaceburg sharpened 251 pairs of skates, at $4.99 a pair.
Today, Mike Coyne, store manager, handed over a cheque for $1,252.49 to Tom Cogghe, convener of the tournament.
“We didn’t know if we were going to make an investment as far as a skate sharpening machine, until we found out that there was no one in Wallaceburg sharpening skates anymore, “Coyne said.
“It became advantageous to both of us, to help them kick start their tournament and to sponsor Wallaceburg Minor Hockey. For us, we wanted to provide something to the community we thought was missing. It was win/win, it was good for both parties.”
Cogghe said Frank’s family was happy to hear about the partnership.
“His family really expressed their gratitude that Canadian Tire was able to do this in Frank’s honour,” he said.
“It’s a touching thing on their part.”
Cogghe said the donation will go a long way.
“We’re so happy about it, it’s amazing,” he said. “First and foremost the money is in Frank’s name, but on top of it, the money raised goes toward Minor Hockey to keep registration down.”
Coyne said he had not heard of Frank before taking over as the manager in Wallaceburg
“After we got the machine and started sharpening skates, people were coming in and while they were waiting, they’d be having a conversation about the need in the community and about how great Frank was,” Coyne said.
“If nobody had a pair of skates, he’d give them a pair of skates to go out and play. He basically said when you are done with them, bring them back. He put a lot of kids in skates and he was a big part of the community. For us, it was cool to pick up that ball and run with it. We’ve heard a lot of stories and people are excited that somebody else is going to provide that service to him.”
