Joanne Walsh took a stroll down memory lane in Deer Lake this week.
A member of the Kennedy clan from Carbonear, Joanne was in town to watch her son, Jack, compete in the bowling portion of the 2018 Newfoundland and Labrador Winter Games being held at the Humber River Lanes.
Joanne was bowling for her hometown of Carbonear when she and her teammates competed with the hometown team 32 years ago in the bowling final.
As it happens, Jack also battled the team from Western in hopes of winning the gold.
Joanne sat in the crowd as Jack took his shot. Each time he did, she remembered taking those same shots.
“It brought back a bit of deja vu for me,” she said. “It’s been kind of tit-for-tat. Just watching this week has brought back a lot of great memories. I remembered screaming and the high-fives and not being able to feel your hands.”
Jack’s story is the latest in the many tales of parents and children who have taken part in some form of the Newfoundland and Labrador Games — summer or winter — since their inception.
It’s also a neat storyline to revisit when the Games roll around every two years. Look hard enough each time and you’re bound to find an athlete and one of their parents who are sharing the Games at different points in their lives.
It is even better when the places the parents competed are the same places their offspring are competing now.
Coincidentally, Joanne’s brother, David, competed at those same Games in Corner Brook 32 years ago.
He was also in Deer Lake for the 2018 Games. Aside from popping in to check on his nephew, David spent his time at the hockey rink watching his son, Joshua, compete with Team Avalon in the male hockey tournament.
I remember being in Clarenville for the 2014 Winter Games and learning then-Port de Grave MHA Glenn Littlejohn had been involved with the Games 20 years prior in the same spot. At those Games, his son, Andrew, was a pairs figure skater.
The stories of kids following the same path as their parents is a part of what makes the Games worth covering and is a strong indicator of why they are still an important part of the sporting landscape in this province.
Jack ended up winning the gold and downing Western with his teammates — a mirror image of what his mother had done.
Joanne plans to get pictures done comparing the medal she won almost four decades ago and the one Jack captured Tuesday.
They’ve walked the same path to the same destination.
“I think it’s special because we have this connection through bowling,” Jack said.
Nicholas Mercer is the online editor with The Western Star. He lives in Corner Brook and can be reached at [email protected]
