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Special presentation celebrates Oxbow hockey history

Darlene Himmelspeck of Estevan was in Oxbow recently, where she presented a 20-inch by 24-inch photo of the 1963-64 Oxbow Huskies to Rae Wright. The Huskies made it to the league final that season.
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Rae Wright with the Oxbow Huskies accepts a photo from Darlene Himmelspeck.

OXBOW — There is a special addition for Oxbow’s arena.

Darlene Himmelspeck of Estevan was in Oxbow recently, where she presented a 20-inch by 24-inch photo of the 1963-64 Oxbow Huskies to Rae Wright. The Huskies made it to the league final that season.

Wright said he was shocked to receive the photo.

“I had interest in the Big Six Hockey League way back then because my father was one of the people who was at the meeting when they formed the Big Six, and he played with a lot of the guys who were in that photo,” said Wright, who is currently the Huskies’ manager.

He was only a few years old when Oxbow made it to the league final that season, so he doesn’t remember anything, but he did get to know a lot of those players as he became older.

Wright is also a former Huskies’ player, was a linesman in the league and is a former Big Six president.

He noted his parents were wintering in Phoenix and just returned home. His father wanted to go to the rink to see the photo.

“I’m sure it’ll be a piece that’s talked about a lot for next season when people go in the rink. It’s always nice to have some old artifacts,” he said.

Himmelspeck said she had the picture among some old photos in her home. She has been to games in Oxbow in the past, but she never saw a photo like this. While it’s nearly 60 years old, she said the image is still very clear.

When she went to Oxbow to present the photo, she visited with Wright, and she was very impressed with his knowledge of the team from that season.