The off-season silence of the hockey arena is interrupted as Carol Cooper waves her arms, corralling the 40 or so members of the Bush family through its open doors.
From Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, London and Huntsville, and even locals of the Collingwood area, family members of all ages gathered – some for the first time ever – to visit the namesake of their late family member, Eddie Bush, at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena on Saturday.
With bright, smiling faces, members of the family hug, introduce themselves and laugh about how they are related as they walk through the arena pointing out pictures of Eddie Bush, “Uncle Bob,” and other members of the Bush family who have been inducted into the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame over the years.
“We only ever see each other at funerals. It is amazing to get to meet up for a happy occasion for once,” Carol says.
Last year would have been Eddie Bush’s 100th birthday, which got Carol thinking about her estranged family. She had always wanted to co-ordinate some type of reunion, but didn’t know how or when to do so.
“I thought it would be neat to meet Eddie’s son, but unfortunately he passed away in 2017,” Carol says.
Her grandson, Max, was born in Owen Sound earlier this year and Carol remembered the connection her great grandparents, Hiram and Emma Rilla Bush, had to this area.
“I finally just thought, we have to do this.”
Carol reached out on the Facebook group, Collingwood Past, where people are encouraged to share photos and memories of their ancestry and of Collingwood’s rich history. Through this group, she connected with her second cousin, Janice Brock, who still resides in Collingwood. They continued to post on Facebook and were shocked by the response they received from people with their own connections to Hiram and Emma Rilla Bush.
Carol’s sister, Patricia Bush, and her daughter, Sarah Drawehn, have always been fascinated by their family’s history. Sarah is a genealogist and is skilled at piecing together archives to connect the dots. The women teamed up and managed to connect with family members all across Ontario and the United States, some of whom they had never even heard of. In no time, Carol had an itinerary set for the weekend, and convinced strangers to participate in the first ever Bush family reunion.
“It was worrisome because we don’t know each other, we didn’t know if they were going to be chatty or not. I’m a chatty person,” says Carol. “But then everyone walked into dinner Friday night and we just started yacking and yacking and yacking. It was awesome.”
Saturday began with a walk to Hiram Bush’s gravesite at the All Saints’ Anglican Cemetery in the morning and ended with a catered dinner at the legion. One of the cousins used to be a chef at Blue Mountain, and he whipped up a “wedding-worthy” feast for the whole group.
“Some of the Bush family who live in Collingwood didn’t even know their great grandfather was buried there. The connections are endless. It’s unbelievable,” says Carol.
Overall, Carol estimates there are about 125 family members descending from Hiram and Emma Rilla. By the end of the weekend, around 60-plus people showed up for a least one activity.
Eddie Bush was born in Collingwood in July 1918 and quickly became a hockey vagabond. He played on fourteen separate teams over thirteen years, two of which were spent on defence for the Detroit Red Wings.
In 1950, Eddie retired and took over the coaching reigns of his hometown team, the Collingwood Shipbuilders.
Eddie’s brother, Robert “Rose” Bush, was a sports fanatic as well, and according to the Collingwood Sports Hall of Fame, he wrote a successful sports column for the Collingwood Times.
Both Bush brothers were present in the local sports scene until their deaths in the early 1980s. The Eddie Bush Memorial Arena was renamed in Eddie’s honour in 1984.
Paul Nelson had never met any of the Bush family. He flew in from Connecticut to visit Collingwood for the first time this weekend.
“It was sort of like, who are these mysterious Bushs?” says Nelson.
Nelson got an urge to meet his family after his son was on a Fulbright Scholarship in Munich last year and attended a hockey game. He was wearing his Detroit Red Wings jersey with Bush, number five, displayed on the back when an American hockey player skated over, shocked that the young man would have any clue who Eddie Bush was. While Eddie’s legacy is evident in Collingwood, it appears his talent inspired hockey players all around the world as well.
Before they continue on with Carol’s itinerary, her brother, Doug Bush, and second cousin, Bob Bush, share war memorabilia from their grandfathers’ days overseas. Others laugh and reminisce as they watch the children play in the empty arena, proving the hockey gene may continue in the Bush family for years to come.
“I talked about a reunion a lot and it was my sister who finally convinced me to do it. I figured I’d throw it to the wall and see if anything sticks. Apparently, it stuck,” says Carol.
From four months to 94 years old, the family spans four generations across North America. While nothing is set in stone, discussions have already begun about another reunion in two to three years.
“More and more pictures keep turning up, and family members who weren’t able to make it this weekend are still reaching out. I’m excited to see what else we can learn.”
