Glengarry Gardens New Company of Seven

The Glengarry Gardens ‘New Company of Seven’ will be inducted into the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame at the 15th annual induction dinner to be held September 8. The seven men, prominent Alexandria residents in the early 1950’s, were instrumental in ensuring that the town’s arena continued to operate, despite a series of obstacles it faced.

The Glengarry Gardens was built in 1947 by one of the inductees, Alex DaPrato. In December 1949, a new company, consisting of some 60 shareholders purchased the arena, improving its facilities.

But this arena was short-lived: on January 19, 1952 it was destroyed by fire. A new committee was formed and re-construction began on the same site in late July, 1953. Within a year the arena was in use again. Parts of the interior, however, remained unfinished, and for a variety of reasons, the Gardens suffered from financial difficulties.

At this point the New Company of Seven inductees stepped in and saved the day. Through their efforts the arena was finished, and shortly after, artificial ice was installed. In October 1976 the area was signed over to the town of Alexandria.

Lloyd McHugh, proprietor of the Hub Restaurant, headed the Gardens’ first executive. He was involved in hockey. R.J. Graham, owner of Graham’s Creamery, started the Hub Restaurant. Alex DaPrato, a farmer from the 4th of Kenyon, left the area to operate a grocery store in Ottawa. He returned to Alexandria in 1947 to build the first arena. Wilfred Menard, the owner of Menard Construction, Green Valley, was president when the arena was sold to the town in 1967.

Magnus Lemay, was the proprietor of the Ottawa Hotel. His son Claude was secretary-treasurer of the company when the arena was transferred. Dr. Dominic J. Dolan, local sports-minded physician, often patched up injured hockey players without charging for his services.

Louis Shepherd was the owner of Shepherd Motors. His sons Gary and Rodney today run the sports shop and bus company.