Dangling The Caruck Stick

“The Caruk Stick, made c 1896, weaves seamlessly with hockey’s DNA and Mi’kmaw roots, making it a local, inter-provincial–Nova Scotia-Ontario–and national treasure.”

–David Foster Carter, Hockey Holmes

 

Hockey Heritage sleuth David Foster Carter, also known as Hockey Holmes Heritage Detective, will share an interpretive presentation in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The talk will pivot on enticing details about Carter’s intensive 2.5-year stick assessment. Carter has determined The Caruk Stick is “a 127-year old hockey stick: no doubt the oldest-existing and oldest-known, Mi’kmaw-made stick. The one and only.”

The Caruk Stick,” pronounced Care-ick, is named for the owner Wayne Caruk of Hastings Ontario, where the stick “grew up, and grew very old,” says Carter. “Based on my close examination of the stick and extensive research, the stick is Mi’kmaw made and was designed specifically for the Ontario marketplace (OHA regulations) and in the days of Canada’s 1890s hockey boom. The original Stanley Cup era.” His opinion has been mirrored by Ontario hockey historians, including Bill Fitzell and Brian Logie, “Sadly, both of them have passed away but inspected the stick a few years back and deemed it to be of Mi’kmaw origin, and late 19th-century design and manufacture, said Caruk. “Now, Hockey Holmes has taken fact-finding and evidence to, well, an ultimate level.”

 

“It’s a must-see bridge between Nova Scotia’s early hockey origins, Mi’kmaw craft, and today’s global game. And, serendipitously, the evidence of such stick design was under my nose for 60 years. “The star of the show, The Caruk Stick, was made c 1896, weaves seamlessly with hockey’s DNA and Mi’kmaw roots, making it a local, inter-provincial–Nova Scotia-Ontario–and national treasure.,” said Carter. Regarding the event, Carter adds, ”Come and peek over my detective’s shoulder: learn secrets, make conclusions, and say “hello” while the stick is back home in its birthplace, here in Mi’maki-Nova Scotia.”

 

Carter will create a stick timeline, using the Birthplace of Hockey’s collection, to illustrate The Caruk Stick’s place in stick evolution (including Toney family sticks, local Valley stick makers). The event is also an end of season celebration for The Birthplace of Hockey Museum and Haliburton House Museum.

 

An engaging and interactive presenter, Carter, who lives in Brookfield, Nova Scotia, and The Caruk Stick will share the stage in Dangling The Caruk Stick: The Ultimate Hockey Stick at The Birthplace of Hockey Museum, in Windsor, Nova Scotia on Friday afternoon, September 29th, from 2:00 to 4:00. The event is free.

 

The Caruk Stick can now be seen during museum hours until September 30, 2023.