At just a week shy of her 96th birthday, Helen Garinger has been curling almost longer than the White Fox Curling Rink has been around and she still throws rocks like a boss, albeit with the help of a curling broom.

Garinger was lead for a team that includes her daughter, Mary Lou Almen, son Terry Garinger and his wife Gaylene Garinger that played in the rink’s 50th Anniversary Bonspiel this past weekend.

“I like the exercise and I like the people,” said Helen of what draws her to the sport. “But I’m about to retire from curling.”

Her seven children all curl and while not on a team, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were at the White Fox rink on Saturday, January 26 to watch family in action.

Garinger was born Helen Anderson in Melfort and lived in Brooksby after she married Alf Garinger. When that community got electricity and then a curling rink (about 1950), she took up the sport and has been playing ever since.

She and her family moved north to the Nipawin area and Helen started work as administrator for the RM of Torch River.

As a small community that doesn’t have large pockets, the curling rink is run entirely by volunteer effort, said Mary Lou.

“It’s all run by volunteers, no one here gets paid,” she said.

Her father was a volunteer rink caretaker for many years and volunteers still make the ice – right now that is Terry Garinger and Morris Nycholat.

The 18 teams registered in the 50th anniversary bonspiel were all eligible for prizes, which ranged from homemade jams and bread to afghans and other items.

There are a few less curlers than there used to be, but still plenty and enough to make the three regular bonpsiels the club holds worth their while.

Helen at 95 is showing few signs of slowing down, says her family.

She lives independently since her husband passed away in 1981 and grows the largest garden in White Fox and still cans the food she grows and makes jam.

At 80, she showed her grandchildren how she could stand on her head.