CYC Shed - 1933 to 2020

By Jen Peddlesden

As the club grew the members found that they needed a club house and a place to store boats. The first photo ( c 1913) shows a small pier located on the East shore approximately where today you find Chestermere Landing. 

Later, these early sailors set up a  clubhouse in the 1920s (is is believed this was a repurposed house) and that photo is shown in the next photo.

In the 30s the little store on the east shore ( approximately where The Landing is now) was owned by George Hoffner (referred to as ‘Hoffner’s Planks’ by locals.)  Mr. George Hoffner supported local rowers and  dinghy sailors and the trophy he donated for dinghy sailing is shown on the grass in front of the gathered sailors.  The Hoffner rowing trophy is now owned by CHF, kindly donated by Robert Walker (whose grandfather George won it so often, they gave it to him to keep).  The 1929 newspaper article mentions Mr. Hoffner. 

With the moving of the  #1 highway crossing of the lake slightly to the south, the club was cut off from sailing the length of the lake so a new clubhouse was built in 1934  by AB Himmelman further south on the other side of the road and bridge, on CPR leased property just south of  ‘the store.’  (next photo) It is just to the north of this new clubhouse that a boat shed was built, also by AB Himmelman, a boat builder, contractor and the first Commodore of the CYC.

It had rail tracks to ease the hauling of boats into the shed and finger docks to help the sailors launch.  It can be seen in the background of this photo of Fred Paasche (L), a CYC member and cabin owner, sailing his boat The Lorraine with a friend.  (Photo from Chestermere A Home for All Seasons p. 511 )

Soon, the north end of the lake became too busy with boat traffic and unsuitable for sailing, so in 1951 this second clubhouse was moved to the present location of CYC, 635 East Chestermere Drive, it is believed that this shed or the better part of it, came along.

The next three photos courtesy of Michael Hooper, former Commodore and present Chestermere resident, were taken by Bert Linder, CYC member and cabin owner in the 1950s and 60s. ( 677 East Chestermere Drive). The first photo shows a view of the shed (looking north) from the water, off the Linder’s dock. The shed was in the SW of the property and the doors faced west, with finger docks from the shed to assist the sailors launching. They winched them out to the water from trailers in the shed.  The photo shows a second shed as well. The club house can be seen in the background ( red roof) and the cabin owned by Woodliffe family in the background. The  next two (aerial) photos show the footprint of the shed in the SW corner, and remnants of the finger docks), and the roof of the CYC with barely visible, white “CYC” painted on the long west roof.

The shed was moved in 1959 (according to Toddy Hooper) to the SE corner of the property ( second photo upper left), where it was until demolition in 2020.

In this 1973 photo of the entrance to the CYC looking west, (courtesy of the Penley family, Ken Penley was commodore 1966, 1997) the shed can be seen to the left of the photo to the place where it was moved in 1959 until demolition in 2020.