Don Hyslop has captured some of the community spirit in a new book,
Kingston’s Quest for Kraft Hockeyville, chronicling the village’s journey, complete with photographs from throughout the process.
Book launches are set for this week
Hyslop, who was involved in the Kraft Hockeyville 2014 quest almost from the start, said he remembered Dave Whitman writing a record of a similar journey in Lawrencetown, Annapolis County.
Kingston’s efforts got the community to the finals, bringing $100,000 for arena improvements.
“I felt it deserved to be chronicled – it was a book that needed to be written,” Hyslop said Oct. 3. “For me, and for many others, we haven’t seen anything like it in Kingston before, and I’ve lived here since 1974.
It was a community effort.
“I walked into the village office the day I first saw on the Kraft Hockeyville website that Kingston was making a bid, and asked how I could help,” Hyslop recalled.
“Wayne (Fowler, the arena committee president who spearheaded the effort) happened to be there at the time, and he put me right to work.”
He said the book idea started when Kingston reached the semifinals.
“I began to look through the things people had posted. I encouraged people to talk about their feelings, and how it felt to be part of it,” he said.
He also made sure to include mention of the people behind the effort.
“Wayne Fowler’s enthusiasm was infectious, and David Morse’s spirit and memory was a driving force,” he recalled. Morse, a well-liked member of the Kingston-Greenwood sporting community, died in an accident in January 2012.
Hyslop describes himself not as author, but editor and compiler of stories.
“I didn’t want it to be totally my book, but a chronicle of the community’s love for the arena, as embodied in the Kraft Hockeyville process,” he said.
He describs Kingston’s Hockeyville experience as, “a community-building exercise more than anything, and one that was supported by all our neighbours.
“We got support from one end of the Valley to the other, including the media. Even ex-Valley people who had moved away were fully behind the effort. People serving in the armed forces overseas were voting for Kingston on their computers.”
Hyslop noted that he had to secure permissions from a number of people and organizations to produce the book, including the NHL, the league’s major sponsors and Kraft.
“It was quite a process,” he noted.
“I’m really glad I did it,” he said now that it’s done. “I enjoyed renewing acquaintances with some old friends, and making a lot of new ones.”
The books will sell for $15 per copy, with all profits donated to the Credit Union Centre.
Meet the author
Oct. 10: Kingston’s Credit Union Centre warm room, 6 to 8 p.m.
Oct. 11: The Inside Story, Greenwood Mall, 1 to 3 p.m.
Don Hyslop has captured some of the community spirit in a new book,
Kingston’s Quest for Kraft Hockeyville, chronicling the village’s journey, complete with photographs from throughout the process.
Book launches are set for this week
Hyslop, who was involved in the Kraft Hockeyville 2014 quest almost from the start, said he remembered Dave Whitman writing a record of a similar journey in Lawrencetown, Annapolis County.
Kingston’s efforts got the community to the finals, bringing $100,000 for arena improvements.
“I felt it deserved to be chronicled – it was a book that needed to be written,” Hyslop said Oct. 3. “For me, and for many others, we haven’t seen anything like it in Kingston before, and I’ve lived here since 1974.
It was a community effort.
“I walked into the village office the day I first saw on the Kraft Hockeyville website that Kingston was making a bid, and asked how I could help,” Hyslop recalled.
“Wayne (Fowler, the arena committee president who spearheaded the effort) happened to be there at the time, and he put me right to work.”
He said the book idea started when Kingston reached the semifinals.
“I began to look through the things people had posted. I encouraged people to talk about their feelings, and how it felt to be part of it,” he said.
He also made sure to include mention of the people behind the effort.
“Wayne Fowler’s enthusiasm was infectious, and David Morse’s spirit and memory was a driving force,” he recalled. Morse, a well-liked member of the Kingston-Greenwood sporting community, died in an accident in January 2012.
Hyslop describes himself not as author, but editor and compiler of stories.
“I didn’t want it to be totally my book, but a chronicle of the community’s love for the arena, as embodied in the Kraft Hockeyville process,” he said.
He describs Kingston’s Hockeyville experience as, “a community-building exercise more than anything, and one that was supported by all our neighbours.
“We got support from one end of the Valley to the other, including the media. Even ex-Valley people who had moved away were fully behind the effort. People serving in the armed forces overseas were voting for Kingston on their computers.”
Hyslop noted that he had to secure permissions from a number of people and organizations to produce the book, including the NHL, the league’s major sponsors and Kraft.
“It was quite a process,” he noted.
“I’m really glad I did it,” he said now that it’s done. “I enjoyed renewing acquaintances with some old friends, and making a lot of new ones.”
The books will sell for $15 per copy, with all profits donated to the Credit Union Centre.
Meet the author
Oct. 10: Kingston’s Credit Union Centre warm room, 6 to 8 p.m.
Oct. 11: The Inside Story, Greenwood Mall, 1 to 3 p.m.
