The Equity ran an editorial two weeks ago arguing that the Shawville Arena should be renamed after the late Bryan Murray.
After speaking with several stakeholders, it appears that it’s not that simple.
The arena is owned by the Pontiac Agricultural Society (PAS), who were approached last year with a proposal to rename the arena after Murray.
However, inside the doors of the arena a plaque hangs on the wall from a ceremony where the arena was dedicated to the memory of J. Arthur Kilgour – president of the PAS from 1958-1963.
Kilgour was the president of the PAS when the arena was built in 1961 and was instrumental in the project’s success.
When the PAS were approached last year to rename the arena after Murray, the board decided that they didn’t want to go against the wishes of those who helped build the arena and dedicated it to the memory of Kilgour.
With that in mind, it’s hard to begrudge the PAS for not wanting to put Murray’s name in a more prominent position than the man who helped construct the building and to whom it was dedicated.
But why not name the arena after Kilgour? He was most definitely instrumental in helping to build what has become a community hub.
Maybe there is a compromise that can be reached.
Many people may be unaware of this, but the official name of the arena isn’t all that clear. Many people refer to it as the Shawville Arena. One of the plaques inside the door refers to the building as the Shawville Community Centre while another plaque refers to it as the Shawville Agricultural Community Centre.
It’s also unclear if the Agricultural Hall is a part of the community centre.
If the community centre does encompass both the agricultural hall and the arena, then why not name the entire facility after Kilgour and the arena after Murray.
That way, it would be the J. Arthur Kilgour Community Centre which houses the Bryan Murray arena. Maybe the Agricultural Hall could be named after a prominent member of the PAS.
Of course, there are many people who point to the fact that there have been many prominent citizens in Shawville who deserve the honour of having a building named after them.
Names like Jack Lang and Roly Armitage – who both held prominent positions with the PAS – are deserving of such an honour.
But when we pitched the idea of naming the arena after Murray, it only seemed fitting to name the town’s hockey arena after its most prominent hockey name.
Since the building is already dedicated to the memory of another prominent Shawville resident, maybe there is another piece of the town that could display Murray’s name.
Since Murray was such a prominent name in hockey, the outdoor rink could be named after him. Perhaps we could rename a street after Murray.
We at The Equity don’t want to cause divisions between groups in town. But we do feel like this is a discussion that many people in town are passionate about and so the subject should at least be broached.
So if you have any ideas where Bryan Murray’s name could go, write us a letter. Let’s keep this discussion going!
Chris Lowrey
