The arrival of a bronze statue commemorating the life of James Naismith will undoubtedly help Almonte cement its connection with the man.
The sculpture is expected to arrive this summer. It will likely rest in front of Baker Bob’s or near the cenotaph.
Allen Rae, president of the Naismith Basketball Foundation and Museum said the statue will recognize Naismith’s contribution to the world of sports.
A bronze sculpture of Naismith has already been crafted in
“Basketball was James Naismith’s gift to humanity,” college president Richard Flynn recently told the Lawerence Journal-World newspaper. “The new statute will be an ongoing reminder of his legacy.”
The same artist, Elden Tefft, will cast a second sculpture for Almonte.
We hope the community seizes upon this momentum and does more.
Almonte is known the world over as the birthplace of the man who created basketball.
But the casual visitor could come and go without ever knowing this.
Yes, there is
But we believe much more could be done to both celebrate the accomplishments of a native son and create tourism potential.
We need to thrust the connection into the public mind, not simply offer it up when asked.
Next year the world will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Naismith’s birth. But now is the time to come together locally and plan the best way to both honour his memory and capitalize on what could be global media attention.
We hope the statue is only the first step toward this goal.
Our new co-op student, Michael Murchison, started work today.
I asked him to write a brief column to introduce himself to our readers for the Feb. 25 edition. Here's a sneak peak:
Growing up in
I was born in late December, 1993, the youngest of my family and the youngest in all my school classes.
I made long-lasting friendships with as many people as I could when I was young, despite the fact that I was the shiest and quietest boy you would ever meet.
I grew up and I began my high school years at
It’s something that I’ve aspired to become for almost my entire life.
Strangely enough, several years after deciding copywriting was what I wanted to do, I discovered my uncle did that exact job. I guess it runs in the family.
I’ve also, been offered an exciting and unique opportunity to work here at the Canadian Gazette as part of my high schools co-operative education program.
I hope to gain writing and work experience that will help me in my short-term and long-term career goals. I expect to have a lot of fun writing here and I hope that I can bring you, the reader something interesting to read with every article.
Michael Murchison is a
Alicia Rogers
