Long time Silver Beach resident, Jack Manson, turned 100 on March 17, 2026.

His extended family held a birthday celebration in his honour at his current residence, the Kipnes Centre for Veterans in Edmonton. Jack is a veteran of the Canadian Air Force, earning his Air Gunner Wings in the later years of WWII.

 

Jack fondly remembers his childhood summers at Pigeon Lake. His family stayed at the Ouimette Hotel on Silver Beach until purchasing lot #69 and building a cabin on the property in the 1930s. Jack replaced the old cabin with his "house of brick" in the late 1970s and lived there happily until he was 95. Over 60 years ago, Jack was part of a small group of residents who worked to designate Silver Beach a Summer Village and grant them the right to govern themselves. He served on the village council for several years.

 

Throughout his long life Jack was a proud member of the Masonic Lodge, Al Shamal Shriners, RCAF 700 Wing and Mulhurst Legion #246. His hockey career is well documented in historical records. As goalie for the Edmonton Flyers Hockey Club, he won the Allan Cup in 1948, which was the award granted to the best senior hockey team in Canada. This was a huge deal at the time as 60,000 fans (almost half of Edmonton's 130,000 population) lined the parade route. The Edmonton Flyers were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Jack went on to earn a gold medal when his team, the Edmonton Mercurys, won the world championship in 1950. During the three months playing in Europe the team outscored their opponents 88 to 5. Upon returning to Canada the team was honoured with a parade and banquet. The Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys were inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Jack was also inducted into the Wetaskiwin Hall of Fame, Athlete Division in 2019.

 

 Jack, always concerned with preserving history, received an Alberta Historical Award for the two books he authored, Bricks in Alberta and Mulhurst, the First Fifty Years.

 

Jack's hobbies were varied: blacksmithing, welding crazy birds and bugs, stone masonry, brick laying, book binding, making cement garden mushrooms and foil stamping monogrammed napkins, recipe cards and notepaper for residents around the lake. Jack was also well known on Silver Beach for his many pranks and for riding his bike into his 90s despite limited eyesight.

 

Although now blind and in a wheelchair, Jack enjoys reminiscing about his life and the wonderful times at Pigeon Lake. 

 

Article and photos provided by his daughter Jane Hill.