The Heather Curling Club team skipped by Ernie Boushy was composed of Ina Light at third, Garry DeBlonde at second, and, in its first year, Bea McKenzie at lead. They won the inaugural Manitoba and Canadian Championship for mixed curling in 1964. O’Keefe Breweries was the original sponsor of the event that boosted mixed curling from what had been little more than a social scenario to a highly competitive stage.

An injury to McKenzie prompted her replacement at the lead position by Betty Hird for the next three seasons, and with the rest of the team intact, Boushy made it four in a row by winning three more Manitoba mixed titles and another national crown in 1966.

The Heather crew almost had the streak interrupted when a huge blizzard brought everything to a standstill in March ‘66. They were marooned in Manitou in driving toward the provincials in Killarney. “We lost one game by default, but after two days we started on a roundabout route to try to get there,” said Boushy. “We ploughed through some huge snowdrifts following another car and arrived just before the deadline set to eliminate us with a second loss.” The rest is history. The team won seven straight games to retain its Manitoba title, and went on to capture a second Canadian Mixed Championship that year in Fort William (Thunder Bay).

Manitoba has produced many multiple Canadian champions in curling, but rarely has one event been dominated the way Boushy did in the mixed from 1964 to ‘67. The story of success was built on talent, cohesion, leadership, and front end sweeping skill. It also was a product of confidence in each other, and how Boushy and third Ina Light meshed their style and curling outlook to form a winning combination.

The 1964-67 Ernie Boushy Team compiled an outstanding record of 23 wins against only two losses in powering through the four straight provincials. Overall, it rang up 104 victories in a total of 122 games played in a memorable curling dynasty.