Nick Haramis
When Nick Haramis moved to Maxville in 1958, he brought a background in athletics that was a welcome addition to a village already known for its involvement in sports.
Born in January 1928, Nick’s love of sports began at the age of 5 on an outdoor rink in Renfrew. From that outdoor rink, Nick soon moved up in the Minor Hockey ranks as the hockey experts recognized his abilities. Nick was chosen captain of the Renfrew Pee Wee team, a team that went on to win the O.D.H.A. crown eliminating the Ottawa Teams in the process. At 15 he starred on both the Renfrew Junior and Senior hockey teams. Summertime saw him on the baseball diamond playing for the Renfrew Red Sox.
With NHL operations suspended during W.W. II, many pro players stationed nearby in Petawawa formed a Senior Hockey team playing other bases as well as local teams. Needing extra players, they recruited Nick. Centering a line with NHLers and coached by the legendary Con Smythe, Nick’s thrill of a lifetime was scoring a hat-trick against Trenton’s goalie Turk Broda, the Toronto Leafs star goaltender.
In 1944 he tried out as a walk-on with the Galt Red Wings, a Detroit farm team. Nick’s father soon became sick and needing help with the restaurant called Nick home. Playing Jr.B hockey with Renfrew, he was invited by a New York scout to a try-out in Lake Placid. If he had made the Rangers, Nick could have left home, but when he was to be sent to play Jr. A hockey in St. Mary’s, his father told him he was needed in the family Restaurant.
Nick applied the same drive to the business and the Haramis restaurant soon prospered. But he found time to play Jr. B and Senior A Eastern Canada hockey in Renfrew playing defense on the team that won the Citizen Shield in Brockville in 1954. He pitched as well for the Renfrew Red Sox baseball team in summer. This hectic pace soon took its toll and Nick was hospitalized with a severe case of pneumonia, missing his team’s trip to the Allan Cup finals. In the hospital, he met a nurse, a Maxville girl, Marion Villeneuve, whom he married in 1949.
Eventually, Nick bought the King George Hotel in Maxville and moved with his wife Marion and 7 children. Three more boys soon made it 10. (5 and 5) About that time, Margaret and Dr. Mutch, Bill Coleman, George Currier and other like-minded sports persons were attempting to organize Minor hockey; there was very little equipment, no money and few volunteers. An outdoor rink behind the King George soon materialized under Nick’s management, a rink that became the recreation centre for Maxville kids during those winter evenings. Nick usually spent Saturdays coaching, organizing, fundraising or planning minor hockey tournaments. Local teams soon began playing interlocking schedules with the Maxville teams. Many of the players Nick coached went on to successful hockey careers.
The village began to realize that an artificial ice surface was a necessity. Nick spearheaded a group that organized a fundraising event. They challenged Scotty Bowman’s Junior Canadians to a game against an “All Star Glengarry Team”, featuring such skaters as Ralph MacSweyn, Donnie Gamble, Neil Scott, and Willie Terry. The old Jubilee Rink in Maxville was packed to capacity. The needed funds were raised… best of all, Glengarry won.
Once Minor Hockey was successfully launched, Nick turned his attention to baseball. A diamond at the High School was lined and readied for the young hopefuls including Don Blaney, a Sports Hall of Fame Inductee himself in 2008. He then organized a league with teams from Moose Creek, Apple Hill, Fournier and Maxville.
Many Maxville organizations were richer for Nick’s contributions and the King George was a meeting place where many important decisions were made. Nick became president of the Maxville Lions Club and was a driving force behind recruiting Dr. Jaggassar enabling a medical centre and the Maxville Manor to become a reality.
When he realized that his young charges were growing up and leaving the village, Nick did not give up his first love, organizing an Old Timers Hockey Team, one which is still going strong today.
Today Nick lives in Cornwall and still is using his organizational talents to help others. He was president for 16 years of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, whose mandate is to help the less fortunate in the community. He and his wife, Marion, enjoy their 10 children and their wonderful group of 40 plus grandchildren and great grandchildren.
