On the ice at the Players’ Championship is a logo of a pink hat with the words The King of Swing commemorating a legendary curling icemaker that passed away leading up to the start of the tournament.
Clarence Jenkins, better known as Shorty, succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease on April 11 in Trenton. He was 77. He had been ill for several years, but his passing stunned the curling world because he had touched so many lives, in particular the players for whom he groomed the ice with pristine care. One of the many stories of Shorty is that only when he had been satisfied with the ice conditions after fretting over it, would he remove his ball cap and replace it with a pink cowboy hat. A pink coat and pink cowboy boots were also part of his ensemble. He became such a curling icon that Tim Hortons did a commercial about him.
To celebrate his influence on the sport, it was decided to make a logo of his hat and the words The King of Swing, which was his nickname, and incorporate that into the ice for the Players’, which began Tuesday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto. The idea began with Deborah Wilcock, the president of the Jet Ice company that installed the ice. She had been a longtime friend of Shorty’s and received permission from his family and Sportsnet, which owns the Grand Slam event, to design a logo to honour him.
Jo-Ann Rizzo, the vice-skip for Sherry Middaugh, whose Coldwater, Ont., foursome is one of the 15 women’s teams in the event, was asked if she’d like to honour Jenkins. He was her uncle and a big influence on her life and career. It was suggested she throw a rock with a pink candle on it to commence the opening ceremonies, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing that. So she decided to write something and read it aloud, thanking everyone for the outpouring of love the family had received, both directly and indirectly through the media.
“It was a wonderful feeling to witness how highly respected he was and how he affected so many people’s lives,” Rizzo told sportsnet.ca on Wednesday, reading the speech written on a card that she has in her purse. “He loved life and was so passionate about everything he did from curling to making ice or grooming golf courses. He loved a good party and he loved to dance and that’s how he got his nickname.
“There’s been so many wonderful Shorty stories people have been sharing that it’s impossible to tell them without a smile on your face. He’ll truly be missed and always remembered.”
As per his request, he was cremated with his pink hat and pink boots and remembered at a private family memorial.
“He was a lot of fun growing up,” Rizzo said. “I worked on a golf course with him for six years and I lived with him for a few years. He was always a character. He had his quirks, but he was a lot of fun to be around. He would give the shirt off his back if you needed it. There’s many people who called and needed his help for ice or even for a golf course. He was a very giving person.
“I grew up with him and he was always at the rink with me and he was my support. He meant the world to me. He was a big part of my life. As soon as I heard (he passed), I drove to Trenton. The family was really upset even though you knew it was coming. He was sick for awhile. It’s hard to let go. You’re never ready.”
And yet she said it is quite fitting that his passing happened now in a curling tournament in which he had been so involved, allowing the curlers to celebrate his life. She said it would not have been the same if he passed away in the summer when the curling season takes a break.
“The day he passed it was like a sheet of ice across Ontario (because of a storm) and somebody tweeted he’s up there pebbling the sky and it’s all falling down on us,” she said with a smile. “It’s quite funny. It would be pretty special (to win it for him), but that’s not why I am here and I don’t want to put that extra pressure on my team. You put it aside. I talked to the family and they’re cheering for me and supporting me. You do what you can.”
She is giving out Shorty pins that her uncle designed and proudly gave away to fans and collectors.
Jon Mead, vice-skip for Jeff Stoughton’s team from Winnipeg, has curled often in events in which Shorty made the ice and fondly recalled him.
“He was a great character,” Mead said. “Regardless of everything he contributed to the game he was just a lot of fun. You always knew where he was in the place. He was full of life, always looking for fun. He was a pioneer in the game. The way the ice is now and what we enjoy playing on is a direct result of the work he started. We owe a lot to Shorty. He was just a great guy. I don’t think it was a huge surprise (when he passed). We heard he’d had some health issues over the years. It’s sad, but at the same time he led a pretty rich life. It is unfortunate the way life goes. You feel for the family, but there’s a lot of smiles when you think of Shorty Jenkins.”
Players’ head ice-maker Mark Shurek said the reason he became a head ice maker is because of Jenkins, with whom he worked as an assistant at one event.
“He made a lot of experiments and really brought curl to the game in the mid-90s,” Shurek said. “Shorty did a lot of events, but he did a lot for the World Curling Tour. He was the icemaker for the Players’ Championship for many years. He loved the players. He bent over backwards to do whatever he could to help them. It was kind of nice they honoured him at an event like this.
“Shorty was very different, an eccentric gentleman. I have done a lot of travelling and I’d talk to someone on the plane or at the airport and say I make curling ice. In the last 10 years I’d probably run into 20 people — and I’m not exaggerating — and they’d say I met a guy and he was a little guy and his name was Shorty. I’ve run into people who knew Shorty that really knew nothing about curling. He was just a guy you’d never forget.”
It is his life and how he lived it that people will most remember Shorty Jenkins.