STORY OF FAME AND SUCCESS ENDED HAPPILY
Figure skaters of a century ago were drawn from the ranks of business moguls and titled aristocrats.
As befitted an elite private club, the Winter Club offered amenities like a well-appointed dining room with full meal service, a salon for afternoon tea, card rooms, a spacious oval clubroom overlooking the ice and live orchestra.
Badminton courts were added in 1929.
Members were chided to instruct their chauffeurs not to block the front entrance, as this caused “much inconvenience,” according to the club’s 1930-31 guidebook.
The club’s pro, “Miss Charlotte,” taught skating skills.
Club champion Jeanne Chevalier was the granddaughter of a French consul and daughter of the general manager of the Crédit Foncier Franco-Canadien.
In 1914, she and partner Norman Scott won the pairs title in the first Canadian championships. The same year, they took the gold medal in the first ever International Figure Skating Championships of America, in New Haven, Conn.
Scott won the men’s title in both events.
Chevalier went on to win the Canadian women’s championship in 1920 and 1921.
The next year, she hung up her skates, married a French nobleman and lived happily ever after in a château in the Loire Valley.
Scott’s image was engraved on Canadian figure skating medals from 1914 to 1950.