Antique Saskatchewan hockey stick making it to Sports Hall of Fame

Lee Carleton says after misplacing a hockey stick given to him by his grandfather in the 1960s, he feared he had lost a piece of his family history for good.

"I was a little concerned. There's a bit of nostalgic value to the stick," he said.

Carleton, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, found out through local media that the old hockey stick had been found at a local goodwill store.

"I had a recent move within the city of Edmonton and I lost the stick. I know during the move I was donating a lot of things to Goodwill and somehow I suspect it got mixed up in one of those deliveries."

The stick itself is Northland brand. It has his grandfather GarnCarleton's handwriting on it that states it was made in 1940. Back then his grandfather Garn Carelton was a coach for the Cabris Bulldogs, a senior team in south west Saskatchewan. Carleton says this hockey stick represents a time in history that is especially significant to older, rural people on the prairies.

"It was a much simpler time. There wasn't a lot of distractions in those days with television and the internet. So people's communities, and friends, and relationships were quite often based around hockey, or baseball, or curling, or so on, and so forth. So it brings back a lot of memories for those folks."

Carleton says his grandfather would be pleasantly surprised to hear of the stick's journey to the Hall of Fame.

"Obviously it will be appreciated by many more people there, than it would be by me dragging it around."

You can hear more about Carleton and the journey of his grandfather's hockey stick today on the Afternoon Edition in Regina on Wednesday afternoon, on 102.5 FM or 540 AM.