Both Manitobans, Fred grew up in Portage la Prairie and Joyce in Toulon. Fred joined the Royal Canadian Navy during W.W. II and saw service in the North Atlantic. They met in Winnipeg and were married in 1947. At that time, Fred was working for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
About 1955, they made a holiday trip to Canmore where Fred’s sister, Mrs. Mary Bobyk, owned the Sport Shop. She asked Fred and Joyce to come to take over the store so she could spend more time in her store in Banff. They said they would think it over and went back to Winnipeg. Remembering how much they liked Canmore, they made up their minds to move and arrived here on August 20, 1957, bringing their three children with them.
That first winter made a wonderful impression on them, being so much milder than winters in Winnipeg. They also remember a New Year ‘s Eve some years later when it was also so mild that they went to a house party wearing their dress shoes. Imagine their surprise when they came out a few hours later to find a foot of snow on the Ground!
Joyce had always been a homemaker but with the children all in school, she joined Fred working in the store. Mrs. Bobyk had moved to Banff by this time. They lived in the back of the store until they moved to their present home on June 30, 1979. They often worked from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm to accommodate miners and construction workers, many of whom worked shifts. They soon knew everyone in town because they were all in and out of the store. They sold not only sporting goods but clothing, footwear and other items for men, women and children. Their store was named Horbay’s Sport’s Shop.
There were still wooden sidewalks when they came in 1957 but they were paved after the town was incorporated in 1965. They remember Pete Eliuk, a barber, and Joe Kram, who had a coffee shop, both on Main Street, across from their store.
Fred was involved in Minor Hockey for twenty years before the new skating rink was built and was very involved in getting the new rink.
Their daughter, Georgina, married Keith Clark and they have two sons, Brent and Trevor. Fred Jr. married Betty Anne and had three children, David, John and Joyce Anne. They lived in Crossfield and Cremona. He later married Debbie. Leslie married Diane Stewart but later divorced. Their children are Blake and Leslie Anne.
Leslie and Keith Clark operate the Home Hardware, and Fred can often be found there, just making sure that everything is going well.
Fred and Joyce Horbay
Fred, Jr. and Leslie Horbay in front of store
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 135-136.
