While her son Clyde only played in Collingwood for a couple of years, most parents would be humbled at the minor hockey volunteer service record of Elsie Cruickshanks. Along with her late husband Frank, an Inductee in 1994, the 79-year-old Cruickshanks will enter the Builders’ category of the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame. Well-known in the community for her continuing tireless efforts as a volunteer at the Royal Canadian Legion, Cruickshanks is also occasionally stopped on the street by grown-ups who remember her for what she did at the hockey rink. “They haven’t forgotten us!” she muses. “Like they say, you’re only going to be rewarded with what you put into something. We enjoyed spending time with the children.” A ticket taker, raffle draw seller, registrar and an organizer of the annual Huronia Tournament for 25 years, Cruickshanks assisted Frank with the youth teams he coached. For these efforts, she has been recognized with the 2003 Order of Collingwood alongside a certificate presented by Mayor Terry Geddes for her service to youth in 1999.
Cruickshanks recalled an exhibition game hosted by Collingwood Minor Hockey in the 1970s against a touring midget team from Finland. Her family billeted four of the opposing players and the teams quickly made friends, despite the language barrier. Collingwood had been chosen to be a site for the game because of its reputation for hosting tournaments. “I know the Finnish boys had a great time here, because the next night they had another game in Markham. Clyde and a carload of boys who had played against them the night before went to Markham to watch the game. When (the Finns) came out on the ice, the fans booed them. What a disgrace! They treated those boys horribly. That would have never happened in Collingwood.” When asked about her favourite part about being a minor hockey volunteer, Cruickshanks recalled the massive breakfasts whipped up daily at the Huronia Tournament. “Frank Sheffield and a bunch of other people did such a tremendous job in the kitchen,” she added. “We never seemed to have trouble getting teams to come to play in Collingwood.”

This evening, October 23, 2004, the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame welcomes Elsie Cruikshanks as an enshrined member for her role as a Builder of our athletic community.