Ewen MacPhee
Ewen John MacPhee was born on August 1, 1929, in the 14th of Lochiel, the son of Alex Willie MacPhee and Maggie (MacMillan) MacPhee.
His athletic skills were developed on the frozen ponds and cow pastures of Lochiel as had those of generations of young people before him. The structured leagues of hockey and soccer had not yet appeared on the scene. MacPhee was fortunate in having John Sandilands fir a teacher at S.S. No. 5 Elementary School for a few years. Sandilands was a soccer enthusiast who encouraged his young charges in the pursuit of soccer excellence.
There were occasional soccer games between some elementary schools during the period prior to World War II, but this was the extent of any organization at the junior level. On entering high school in Alexandria in 1944, MacPhee first became involved in track and field.
Again, there was a minimum of coaching, consisting mainly of help from one’s teammates and some of the teachers. He continued to participate in these events through high school, both at the intramural and interscholastic levels, winning several awards.
All high school pupils were obliged to be in the Cadet Corps for the duration of the war. MacPhee was awarded the Strathcona Medal for being the Best All Around Shot in the Corps for the year 1947-48 as well as several other shooting titles.
He also won track and field awards at cadet camp during the summers of 1947 and 1948.
The first Glengarry Highland Games were held in Maxville in the summer of 1948. MacPhee participated in the track and field events, winning medals in the pole vault and broad jump. In 1946, Lochiel Soccer Club began the rebuilding process . Many of the players had dispersed over the war years and their place was now taken by some of the young boys in the community. MacPhee was one of these promising youths.
Over the next few years, the team started to gel and beginning in 1949 through 1959, the team won the Glengarry Cup, emblem of soccer supremacy in Glengarry, 10 times. The exception was in 1951 when Dalkeith won the trophy.
MacPhee, at centre forward, was a major contributor to the club’s success. He was second in scoring in 1947 and was named Most Gentlemanly Player. He won the scoring championship in 1949 and 1950. He also played for Cornwall United for at least one season.
MacPhee was chosen to play inside right for Glengarry. In the summer of 1997, the members of the All Star team were honoured, marking the 50th anniversary of that game.
After the war, Alexandria got a covered hockey rink and artificial ice. A team was entered in the Cornwall and District Intermediate Hockey League. The team was called the Maroons and MacPhee was a valued member.
He also played for Alexandria in the Border League and later played for the Alexandria Aces and the Alexandria Gems in the Central Ottawa Valley Hockey League. Playing on a line with Reynald Lauzon and Laurent Poirier, MacPhee made a huge contribution to the success of the teams. The most successful season was in 1953-54 when the Gems beat the Lancaster Rainbows to win the first Alexandria championship since 1914. They eventually lost to Cardinal in the O.D.H.A. play downs. In 1947, a reunion of the players of that era was held in Alexandria.
MacPhee joined the Bank of Nova Scotia after leaving high school. After serving in Alexandria, Vankleek Hill and Hawkesbury he was eventually transferred to Montreal in 1951, where he remained until 1957. During that period, he played for the Bank of Nova Scotia Hockey Club and in the Montreal Financial Hockey League. There is no telling what other athletic exploits he might have taken part in, but in the fall of 1957, MacPhee was transferred to the bank’s New York agency. He is now retired and living in Toronto, where he is still involved in sports, mainly curling and golf.
MacPhee is married to Mildred MacMillan and they have four children, Joslyn (Ralph) MacGillivray, Jennifer (Paul) Dowell, Melissa and Jeffrey. He and Mildred also have five grandchildren, Karleigh, Cameron and Eric Dowell, as well as Taylor and Sarah MacGillivary.
