page 53 A Peep into the Past Vol. 1 Gordon and Belle Hall
In the middle 1920s Cochrane had a nine-hole golf course. It was situated where the subdivision of Cochrane Heights is now. The golf course had sand and greens and the first green on the first hole was situated where the Cochrane High School sits. The land at the time was owned by the late Andrew Garson. Golf was played each summer for about four years when it was abandoned. Caddies for golfers made about 50 cents a round and wooden-shafted clubs were used.
For years afterward, this land was known as the golf course and in later years was fenced and used as a cattle pasture. The McConachies owned it for a time, but the land was eventually sold to the town.
There was an early tennis court in the village, it was located where Dave Whittle had his upholstery shop. The court was made of crushed red brick and had a high fence around it. The younger fry had a skating rink north of the lane behind Downs Hardware. It was hard to haul water to make ice; however, this rink didn’t last long and a new rink was built where Andrew Sibbald stands. The school well was used for water for ice making. the caretaker of this rink was Bert Sibbald. Bert’s word was law, with very little fooling around. This rink was used for a good number of years, up until the new school was built.
In the late 1920s, the kids of the town used to skate on the Big Hill Creek and down onto the Bow River, which in those days before the Ghost Dam was built, used to freeze quite smooth. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Clark lived close to the river and their house was always a haven to thaw out in and get some hot chocolate.
February of these years was what was called Dog Days. Farmers coming to town with a team nearly always had a dog with them. Seems the farmers went home without the dog, who stayed in the village. Some smart cookie used to set out poison and it got so bad people were scared to go out at night. There were mad dogs running up and down the streets and in the morning there would be about 15 or 20 dead dogs around the village. If we were out skating on the creek, Walter Crowe would come to meet us, get us to walk behind him, then he would march us up the street. Walter had a big Colt 45 six gun in his hand to protect us from poisoned dogs. Several people were blamed for the poisonings, but when one of the local merchants poisoned himself, the episode of dog poisoning came to an end.
