Darrel Brian Heath was born in the Meadowbrook district on September 25, 1924, the youngest child of John and Ellen Heath. In the late 1920’s he moved to Canmore with his family and took his schooling here. His mother died on his birthday in 1936. Darrel lived with his father until John’s death in 1955. He was described by his sister Daisy as a rather quiet, shy boy.
At about seventeen, Darrel began work at the Canmore mines loading boxcars. He later worked at the mine sawmill and then on “The Goat”.
Darrel grew to be a tall (about 6′ 1″) handsome man. As a young man Darrel excelled at sports. Friends and teammates included John Hrushka, Andy Chakowski, Walter Latvala, Willie Allen and Art Michaluk. Darrel was an outstanding Midget and Juvenile hockey player. He played for the Canmore Legionaires in 1942 when they won the Provincial Championship in Canmore’s second year of Juvenile hockey play. He often tallied seven or eight points per game. Canmore had an abundance of hockey players in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Many went on to play professional hockey in the Western League or the NHL which then consisted of six teams. Darrel and his line mates were closely watched by NHL scouts. They believed the Heath, Hrushka, Arichuk line could have a future in professional hockey. But hockey careers had to be put on hold. The men were miners and classified as doing essential war work so they were frozen to their jobs for the duration of the war. The mines worked seven days a week during the war years; Sundays were used to repair machinery. The only time the men could get a day off was when they were ill.
Following Juvenile, Darrel played with the Canmore Briquetteers. They were playing in an intermediate league which at that time was a level below the senior Western Hockey League. They were a “crackerjack” team, quite an accomplishment for a town with a population of less than 2000. In 1944 the Briquetteers made a bid to win the senior level Western Canada Championship – the Allen Cup. In March they went to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan with George Heath as manager for a best two out of three series. What a series it was!. Canmore had some injuries and had barely enough players to ice a team. Back then the games weren’t broadcast that distance so on game nights several hundred Canmore fans gathered at the railway station. When a goal was scored someone at the Prince Albert arena phoned the Prince Albert Railway Station and the news was then wired to Canmore. If Canmore scored there would be wild cheering but groans if Prince Albert scored. Prince Albert won the Cup in the third game. The next year Canmore was once again in Saskatchewan for a best out of seven series against the Saskatoon Laurel Beavers. There were several well-known NHL names like Doug Bentley in the line-up against Canmore. Saskatoon had to bring in goalie John Bauer for the seventh game to defeat the Canmore team.
Darrel and teammate Andy Chakowski were invited to the Chicago Black Hawks spring training camp. Darrel was asked back in the fall but for some reason, refused to go.
Darrel was also a good ball player. He played in a league with teams from Calgary and Field, B.C. He was a good curler too.
As the years went by, Darrel stayed more and more at home. His health failed and he was forced to give up his job. He died September 14, 1981 at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary just before his fifty-seventh birthday. His family remembers Darrel as a kind, gentle person, a good singer and a very good dancer.
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 124-125.
