When one talks about curling in Manitoba (or rather, Canada) William E. Lumsden was all things to all people, although not necessarily on the ice. Lumsden let other people throw the stones and do the sweeping, he just cleared the way with his gigantic and dynamic presence in the committee room. He remains one of the greatest builders in the history of Manitoba.

The Garden of Eden was Elmwood, or vice-versa. Eve was always at his side, as close as a loving wife could be when the man of the house was rarely home. It could be said that Bill Lumsden did not really belong to anybody, that he was the exclusive property of curling. A member of the Elmwood Curling Club for more than fifty years, Lumsden served as president, secretary, Honourary Life Member, and director of its holding company. He was also a secretary, president, and Honourary Life Member of the Manitoba Curling Association, chairman of the hugely successful 1970 Brier, and led the life members’ association for 25 years.

At the national level, Lumsden was the president of the Dominion Curling Association and Honourary Life Member, an inductee to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, vice-president of the Royal Caledonian Curling Association in Scotland, Honourary Life Member of three provincial associations, the Air Canada Executive of the Year, and director of the 1978 Silver Broom held in Winnipeg.

Before Bill Lumsden arrived on the scene, curling’s national body was a senior citizen’s home and the game survived in spite of it. Lumsden opened some windows and brought a fresh, vibrant, and aggressive approach to the solution of curling’s problems. He was the right man in the right place at exactly the right time. Curling has never had a better “front man” or a more dedicated worker.