A Collingwood senior still laces up his skates every Tuesday and Thursday to play the sport he loves at Central Park Arena, with plans to continue for as long as he can.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Harvey Pearen, 85, who is a 2022 inductee to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame
Q: Have you always lived in Collingwood?
A: Yes, except for four years.
I was born in Ravenna, Ont. in 1936.
Q: What brought your family to Collingwood?
A: The war. My father had a farm in Ravenna and hit hard times. He lost the farm. We moved to Owen Sound and he went into a trade for the war. I think he made things for planes. So then, he could either go to Peterborough or Collingwood. He came to Collingwood.
I was five.
Q: Where did you go to school?
A: I went to Victoria School on Maple Street. After that, I went to the high school at Hume and Hurontario.
I only went until Grade 10.
Q: After that, where did life take you?
A: Life took me to Kaufman Furniture. I worked there for four years. Then, I got a job at Martin-Baker Aircraft which made ejector seats for the Canadian Armed Forces and the U.S. Air Force. I worked there for four years.
Then I worked as a milkman for a year. I worked for 12 years for a Coca-Cola franchise. After that, I worked for 30 years at Canadian Mist Distillery until I retired. I ran the stills. It was a hell of a job.
Q: When did you first start getting involved in sports?
A: My first championship in hockey was in a town league in the mid-1950s. John Hill was my coach. We were the South-End Rangers and we won the championship.
I played baseball as a catcher for 11 years. We won four or five championships locally over (that time).
I coached the midgets for five years. I liked doing that.
It’s not the same now as it was then.
Back then, it was $2 to play minor hockey. It was $2.50 if you were playing for the rep team. One of the players still owes me money for all the cigarettes they bummed. It’s quite a different world now.
I went with the Collingwood Blues for a few years and it was terrific. On a Friday night there would be more than 1,100 people in the arena. It was the whole town. It was a great time. We had a lot of battles with Owen Sound, and it was very exciting.
Q: What is it about hockey and baseball that appeals to you?
A: That’s all there was here then.
I like playing. I still have a desire to play. If I can win, good, but as long as I get to play. I play hockey twice a week at 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It bothers me if I make a mistake because I’m really old, but (the other players) aren’t.
I’m a deker. Old-timers don’t do that, but I’m an old old-timer, so I get away with it.
Sometimes (the other players) let me go in. They won’t check me too hard. They’re very good to me. Too good, sometimes. I don’t want them to do that.
Because when I score, I don’t feel good. I want to do it honestly.
Q: You are one of two 2022 individual inductees to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame for your contributions to hockey and baseball. How did you feel when you found out you were being inducted this year?
A: My daughter phoned me to tell me. I thought, who in the hell did that?
I didn’t know about it. It was my ex-sister in law that did all the work.
I’m pretty happy. I would have really loved it had I been inducted 10 years ago when all the people I was associated with were still alive. They’re all dead.
Q: Do you have other hobbies outside of sports?
A: I golfed for many years, but my wife decided to leave the club and then I couldn’t afford it.
I’ve played cribbage for the past four or five years. I stumble through. It’s the same as hockey – I don’t have to win it, but I love to play.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: No. Sometimes they know too much.
Sometimes, when I was umpiring and refereeing, people weren’t happy with me. But, it’s fine! I earned it.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
