Howie Glover an original six NHL player, former Kitchener Greenshirt and now school crossing guard at the age of 82 has become our Minor Atom Red Local Hero and #1 fan.
It was early September when our boys began tryouts, school was back and so was "Howie the crossing guard." Four of our team members (Aiden, Matteo, Nathan and Ryan) all attend Saint John Paul II Catholic School in Kitchener and were fortunate enough to be placed in the same Grade Four class with a fantastic Jr. Ranger Hockey Mom/Teacher, Mrs. Grein! What a great fit to begin the hockey season.
Little did we know the "fit" would become even better as we moved closer to our first game of the year. "Howie the crossing guard" as everyone knows him by, took a real notice of our four boys all wearing their new Jr. Ranger hockey jackets crossing at his crosswalk every day. Howie has always been kind and outgoing to everybody that passes by him near the school. However, this special connection with the four boys seemed different somehow. Howie began offering the four boys positive suggestions to work hard and have fun while playing on the same team. It didn't take long for Howie to ask one of our parents "when do these boys play?" Our parent was Theresa Ertel and she decided to print off the team schedule and bring it to Howie one day as Nathan was crossing the walk to attend school. Howie continued to talk hockey with the boys and mentioned that he too "played a little hockey at one time". It turns out that humility is one of Howie's finer traits as he played more than just a "little hockey", Howie played on four of the original six NHL hockey clubs in the 1950's and 60's, in fact he played on a team with "Mr. Hockey" as Gordie Howe was his Captain from 1960-1962 where Howie Glover scored 21 goals in his first season with the Red Wings.
What a wonderful lesson this has become for our boys to remain humble, be kind and you just never know what story someone else has lived. Howie Glover the "crossing guard" has since attended every one of our Minor Atom Red home games with his Wife Janet and they have become our "good luck charms" with an 8-1 record to begin the season. Howie offers lots of positive advice to our boys and is always smiling. We are naming Howie an Honorary team member of our club and we couldn't have asked for a better role model for our boys! Thank you Howie for supporting our hockey team the way that you and your lovely Wife Janet do.
Since this all began, Amanda Leite wrote a fantastic article to the local news explaining our story. I am excited to announce that Howie has been recognized as our community "Local Hero" with CTV news. I can't think of a more deserving person than Howie to receive the title of "Local Hero". Congratulations to our Minor Atom Red Team member, Howie Glover!!!
