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New Waskesiu mini golf course named in honour of young athlete

Jul 13, 2018 | 8:00 AM

A new mini golf course at Waskesiu is already drawing crowds and celebrating the life of a beloved young athlete. 

The new Little Al’s Mini Golf course opened earlier this month in Waskesiu, and an official ribbon-cutting is planned for Saturday morning. The new course is named in memory of Alan Vincent Hadley Logue, who passed away from Leukemia in 2012 at age 22. After his passing, Logue’s family and friends started a charity golf tournament in his name, with proceeds going toward various causes.

Jim Kerby, past chair of the Waskeskiu Foundation, said the new course was designed with the surrounding areas in mind and features a 27-foot teepee, a life-size brown bear, the lobstick tree, and a replica of Grey Owl’s cabin.

“Mini golf is something that really all ages can enjoy,” Kerby told paNOW. “It has been another tremendous effort by the community of Waskesiu to try and identify a worthwhile project, design it, fundraise for it, get it built, and I think that we’re really, really proud of the way that it’s turned out.”

Fundraising for the new mini golf course raised more than $466,000 thanks to contributions from organizations, businesses, and private citizens. The memorial golf tournament contributed $50,000 toward the venture. Construction of the new course started last fall and the project was completed in June. 

Alan Logue said the new mini golf course is a great way to honour his son, who enjoyed sports, including golf. He said the diagnosis of Leukemia “came out of nowhere” over the May Long Weekend in 2011 and, despite a stem cell transplant and encouraging treatments, the young man succumbed to cancer nine months later.

Logue said his son had just finished his second year of engineering studies at university and was starting a summer job in Candle Lake at the time of the diagnosis. He said the new mini golf course is a great addition to the area which honours his son’s memory. 

“It’s a mixed bag of feelings. It certainly tugs at the heartstrings, but it’s also very satisfying to see his legacy being created by his friends and family in this way,” Logue said. “It’s tailor-made to the park. They’ve done a beautiful job of designing and constructing it, and we are really impressed at the quality of what has been created.”

The mini golf course is located near the tennis court in Waskesiu, at the corner of Waskesiu Dr. and Montreal Dr. Saturday’s grand opening will feature $5 rounds of golf all day and a ribbon-cutting event beginning at 10:30 a.m.

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt