Unveiled Friday, July 22, Cowichan Lake’s own Heritage Sports Wall of Fame is now up for all to see at the Cowichan Lake Sports Arena.
Although the wall recognizes local athletes for the sport they became best known for, each one of the athletes has a long history of involvement in various other sports in the Cowichan Lake area.
The following is some additional background on the inaugural four inductees, including Gord Tuck, Brad Palmer, Dawn Coe-Jones, and Charlie Stroulger.
Will it be hockey or baseball? For recent Heritage Sports Wall of Fame inductee Brad Palmer, it could have been either. A natural born athlete, Palmer had the makings of a star from his earliest days of competitive community sports. His career in professional hockey (at several different levels) took him from Lake Cowichan to many other venues, as far away as Europe. Now residing in Victoria, Palmer, whose son Jack also excels in hockey, operates his own electrician business.
The youngest of the group, recent inductee Gord Tuck was also a natural athlete who strived to become the best he could be. His interest, dedication and participation in sports began at a young age and, like most of the Heritage Sports Wall of Fame inductees, he excelled to the point of perfection. After losing a leg in a work-related accident in the early 1990s, Tuck went on to accomplish goals that seemed unattainable in the world of competitive alpine skiing.
Heritage Sports Wall of Fame member Dawn Coe-Jones, left, has gone where many only dream of; to the LPGA level of professional golf. Her successful career in golf began early, when as a youngster she took up golfing at the March Meadows Golf Course in Honeymoon Bay. A natural athlete, Dawn excelled in many sports, including basketball. She was a member of the local Senior A basketball team that won the BC Basketball Championship in 1977.
Awarded the community’s Citizen of the Year Award in the late 1970s and recently posthumously inducted to the Lake Cowichan Heritage Sports Wall of fame, Charlie Stroulger did, indeed, deserve the name Mr. Baseball. Along with his dedication, skill and commitment to baseball within the community, Charlie was one of a kind. An all-round athlete, his love of baseball as a player, coach and umpire was underscored only by the work he did – year after year – in maintaining the professionally groomed local ball fields, which were the envy of other communities. An avid sportsman throughout his life, he excelled in golf, soccer, curling and sport fishing, remaining an active member of the Fly Fishers Club until the end of his life.