Cliff Jenkins was appointed Dixie Arena manager on January 1st , 1955 replacing Johnny Dunne who had been appointed to the Board of Directors. Cliff was well known in the community. He was Treasurer of the Lynwood Home and School Association in 1952. He became the first president of the Lynwood Recreation Association in 1953. He continued to be active in community events and, when the Jenkin’s family lived on Palston Road in Dixie, he was elected the President of the Dixie Home and School Association. In 1965,he was honoured by the Mississauga Hockey League as one of the first inductees in its Hall of Fame.
Born in Rainy River, Ontario on May 28th, 1912, Cliff was an accountant by profession but had a love for sports. As a youth growing up in Richmond Hill, Ontario, where he attended both public and secondary schools, he was a member of the Toronto Ski Club and the Toronto Achilles Running Club. He went to Richmond Hill Secondary School for only two years but later attended evening classes at Central School of Commerce. At the time, Cliff was employed in the brokerage business.
Cliff joined the Royal Canadian Signal Corps on September 2nd, 1939, the day before the outbreak of WW11. He sailed from Halifax, N.S., for England in August, 1940. He didn’t return to Canada until 1946 where he was discharged on March 11th in Toronto.
While in England, Cliff met Enid Farnish, of Morden, Surrey. They were married in December of 1941. Following Cliff’s discharge from the military, Enid and her infant son Rory had to delay their arrival in Canada until July 21st, 1946.
Cliff was a man of many talents and he had to employ all of them while working at Dixie Arena. In addition to being manager he was also the arena’s engineer. He was issued the required Refrigeration Operator’s Certificate by the Province of Ontario in less than the required five-year period. He actually wrote his examinations and was certified in November of 1956, less than two years after taking on the position.
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