Vintage jacket donation sparks trip down memory lane

A vintage sports jacket was recently reunited with family members. The jacket belonged to Merilyn Fletcher (then Merilyn Ward), who was a member of the Simcoe High School women’s basketball team which won the WOSSA A title in the 1953-54 season. Posing with the jacket in front of a trophy case at Simcoe Composite School are from left Gord Rollo and Jean Montgomery, members of the Norfolk County Sports Hall of Recognition’s Board, and Merilyn’s son Ward and granddaughter Tasha. 

Lisa Timpf

Advocate Contributor

When Nancy Hewitson, owner of The Family Closet, a second-hand store in Delhi, reached out to the Norfolk County Sports Hall of Recognition with an offer, she started a chain of events that ended with a reunion of sorts.

Among the donations dropped off at The Family Closet was a brown-and-white jacket with sports crests sewn on it. The crests suggested that the one-time owner had been a woman who was active in athletics in the 1950s. One of the crests was for “WOSSA A District Champs SHS Basketball 1953-54,” while another said “Simcoe Girls Basketball League 1956-57.” Crests from other sports achievements were also sewn onto the jacket.

Hewitson reached out to the Sports Hall to offer the jacket, free of charge. It was an offer the Hall gladly took up, with the idea of using the jacket in a display. But first, they had to learn more about the jacket’s background.

The “SHS” on the crest suggested that the one-time owner had attended Simcoe High School, as it was then known. The No. 6 sewn on the jacket provided a further clue. Information collected by Sports Hall Board members suggested that the jacket had once been owned by the late Merilyn Fletcher (Merilyn Ward, at the time she attended SHS).

But the story doesn’t end there.

With an assist from individuals at the long-term care home where Merilyn had resided, Board members were able to get in touch with some of Merilyn’s relatives. Since it was clear that the jacket had sentimental value for family members, the Sports Hall members decided to pass it on to them. 

The jacket got a chance to revisit the scene of past triumphs, with Sports Hall Board members Gord Rollo and Jean Montgomery posing for a photo with Fletcher’s son Ward and granddaughter Tasha in front of a display case holding pennants and photos from Simcoe’s victorious high school teams.

Ward, Tasha, and Jean, with the jacket in tow, also visited the Sports Hall inductee displays, which included a photo of the 1953 Simcoe Stars baseball team. The 1953 Simcoe Stars, who won the 1953 Ontario Women’s Softball Union’s Intermediate AA title, were inducted into the Sports Hall in 1998. Merilyn, an accomplished athlete, was a member of the 1953 Stars team.

Ultimately, Fletcher’s family decided to offer the jacket to Simcoe Composite School for a display. Though the Sports Hall didn’t end up using the jacket in their own display area, there’s still plenty to look at in the Hall’s physical location on the pool deck of the Simcoe Recreation Centre. In addition to plaques celebrating past inductees, the area has displays featuring the Class of 2022 and 2023 Sports Hall inductees. 

Former Calgary Stampeder Shane Bergman’s jersey, game footballs, and other artifacts are available for viewing, as well as numerous baseball and hockey mementos celebrating the accomplishments dual-sport athlete Barry Boughner.

Displays highlighting the achievements of Shirley Shaw, Special Olympics organizer and long-time coach of the Simcoe Seals, and the late Paul Smithson, a standout curler who also contributed countless volunteer hours with the Simcoe Curling Club, are also located on the pool viewing level.