Wayne Norton - Women on Ice: The Early Years of Women’s Hockey in Western Canada

WHATEVER HISTORIANS ARE able to reveal of the past is necessarily limited by the sources of information available to them. This particular history of womens ice hockey in western Canada was undertaken many years later than ideally it should have been. Historians derive their inspiration from more than documents and memoirs alone, and the story of the Vancouver Amazons and the hockey network of which they were such an essential part would have been much richer had the possibility of personal interviews with former players existed. Time, however, has intervened and the players are no longer with us. Nevertheless, the narrative presented here has benefitted substantially from the personal assistance and advice offered by many people, and I must acknowledge my debts of gratitude to at least some of them.

Ella Verkerk of the Fernie and District Historical Society and Steven Galloway at the University of British Columbia, each in a different fashion, offered initial encouragement. The Vancouver Historical Society provided generous financial assistance for a preliminary research trip to Banff. Without that initial assistance, I very likely would not have taken those first steps on what proved to be a long road towards producing this history of the Vancouver Amazons, their predecessors and their opponents. Archivists at several locations have provided essential advice. I must particularly mention Don Bourdon, Elizabeth Kundert-Cameron and Lena Goon at the Whyte Museum in Banff, Susan Stanton at the City of Edmonton Archives, Cathy English at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives, Joyce Austin at the Rossland Museum, Barry Dykes at the New Westminster Museum and Archives and Michael Dawe at the Red Deer Archives. Always ready to help were individuals working either on the desks or on the phones at the City of Vancouver Archives, the Vancouver Public Library, the Greater Victoria Public Library, the libraries at the University of British Columbia, the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.

I have been assisted by many other individuals in the course of my research. I must thank Valerie Norton, Colin Grier, Jovan Milojevic, Rein Stamm, Tony Walters, Mary Brewster, Gary Matthews, Lisa Smedman, Emily Rummel and Robert Eagan. I am certainly grateful to my publisher, Ronsdale Press, for venturing into what is for them a new subject area and for their always helpful suggestions offered at various stages during the evolution of this book. Valuable advice and criticism were also provided by Jason Beck of the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, Chuck Davis of the Vancouver Historical Society, Craig Bowlsby and Rick Senkler. Guidance offered by Ann Hall of the University of Alberta set me on the right track at several crucial stages. Any errors nevertheless remain entirely the responsibility of the author.

Wayne Norton,
Victoria, British Columbia
June 2009