2019 Viterra missing The Voice

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This article was published 05/02/2019 (2660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRDEN — Not a rock had been thrown Tuesday with any meaningful consequence and it was already clear something was missing at the 2019 Viterra.

Indeed, ‘The Voice’ isn’t here.

The profound absence of Bob Picken is the sad storyline of the Manitoba men’s curling championship, which begins this morning. All 32 teams practised Tuesday to get a feel for the arena ice at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

Picken, considered by many as the pre-eminent voice of local sports for several generations of Manitobans, died last Wednesday at Riverview Health Centre after a short battle with cancer. He was 86.

The legendary reporter’s career spanned more than 50 years in Winnipeg, split between CKY in the 1950s and lengthy stints with both CJOB and CBC Radio. He covered the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for decades and called Grey Cups to a national radio audience.

But he’ll forever be tied most closely to curling, not just from the resonant reports he delivered “on the hour, every hour” but also from his smooth, thoughtful MC addresses to jam-packed arenas during opening and closing ceremonies of far too many championships to count.

Seemingly, he was at every provincial championship, women’s and men’s, juniors and seniors. He also covered 32 men’s and 16 women’s world curling championships, and 31 Briers.

Veteran curler Kelly Robertson, competing in his 22nd provincial, said the ’19 Viterra will have a different vibe without Picken’s involvement.

“I remember the first few times I was in the Tankard back then at the old Winnipeg Arena and you heard his booming voice. It was voice that was loud and you could hear every word, and boy, over the years really respected everything he was involved in,” said the Neepawa-area cattle farmer, who won the 2011 Canadian senior men’s championship.

“At one of the senior events at the Thistle (club in Winnipeg), he did the Nov. 11 ceremony and that’s what everyone commented on, how good a voice he really owned and still had. Just a big, big loss.”

Picken, honoured in 2017 with the Order of Manitoba, was a walking encyclopedia of curling trivia. When reporters needed a fact checked, they just called down the media bench to “Pick.”

Winnipeg’s Sean Grassie, a longtime competitive curler and author of Kings of the Rings, a book published in 2012 that chronicles the long and colourful history of the MCA Bonspiel, said he turned to Picken many times for his expertise and advice.

“He was probably the greatest curling historian in Manitoba,” said Grassie, who captured the 1999 Manitoba junior championship and 2009 Canadian mixed title. “Certainly, no one was more knowledgeable than Bob. He was a guy I talked to often for my book, just to get a little bit of inside information. I saw him around the (Thistle) club, too, he was volunteering or watching games. You always knew when Bob was in the club… the unmistakable voice.

“He was a really nice man, really gentle. He’ll definitely be missed by our curling community.”

But Picken didn’t just know his curling trivia, he knew each competitor and took a genuine interest in their lives away from the game, said Robertson.

“He was this smiling face all the time. I always remember he wanted to know about my cows. We talked about that early on, and he never forgot that. He even mentioned this past November, “How are the cows?’ Just a special man,” said Robertson, who curled in his first provincial men’s championship 35 years ago in Virden. “But his voice, it’s something I’ll never forget.”

Picken is survived by his wife Barbara, children Bob Jr., Shane and Kelly, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A celebration of Picken’s life is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home, 4000 Portage Ave.

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Competitors here, including skip Jason Gunnlaugson, regret the fact they won’t be able to attend.

“I’m just a huge Bob Picken fan. My grandfather (Lloyd Gunnlaugson) passed young, and Bob basically ran the bonspiel as a memorial to him for 20 years. He’s been a great friend to our family forever, a great friend to our sport and many sports,” said Gunnlaugson. “I know there’s a huge group of us players that definitely would be there if this was closer to Winnipeg. It sucks to not be at his funeral. But he’s a legend.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell