About the Rice Lake Curling Club

A Brief History of the Rice Lake Curling Club

During the winter of 1967-68, approximately 20 couples, including 4-6 individuals who had curled previously, joined together in the cattle barn of the Barron County Fairgrounds, and began what is now known as the Rice Lake Curling Club. Two sheets of ice between the rows of stanchions were flooded with the truck that, in warmer weather, sprinkled down the race track. All scraping was done by hand. The "warming house" was a modified school bus that Vonasek & Schiefffer construction workers used for a lunch area. The State Curling Association loaned the club some second-hand rocks, and 16 brooms were made out of broom handles and carpet.

Bob Enderle, Larry Sharp, and Larry Anderson examine curling rocks destroyed by the fire.

In 1976-77, after an addition was completed to make the rinks the correct length and a viewing room was added, the club moved into the 4-H building. The same year also saw the acquisition of a double-wide trailer for a club house, complete with indoor bathrooms! That same season, the Rice Lake Curling Club hosted its first invitational mixed bonspiel.

On August 1 of 1988, the 4-H building burned down. (See photo, below.)With the hard work and dedication of the membership, the impossible was accomplished; the building that now houses one of Wisconsin's largest, most modern curling clubs was financed, constructed and ready for curling for that 1988-89 season!