For Sarah Allingham it was a labour of love and a lot of research.
Born and raised in Grimsby, Allingham recently published “The Grimsby Peach Kings 1922-2022,” which chronicles 100 years of the popular local hockey club.
“I worked on it for a year,” said Allingham, a Niagara College journalism graduate who spoke to dozens of former Peach Kings players, coaches and family members of former players to gather information.
“I collected so much information and scrapbooks and people’s stories, and that was a lot of fun,” Allingham said. “The tough part (was) putting it together and picking and choosing what goes in, what doesn’t go in.”
Allingham said she was surprised at the modesty of the people she interviewed.
“There’s a pattern with Grimsby Peach Kings, the people, they’re just so humble,” she said. “Their love and support of Grimsby, the team, of each other, that’s the best out of this.”
The 168-page book follows the Peach Kings from their beginning as a Fruitbelt Intermediate Hockey League squad (over age 20) on Jan. 4, 1922, to the end of the 2021-22 season.
Allingham notes the team’s roots go back to the Knocker Hill squad from the late 19th century, with the group getting its name from a site in the town.
The book credits Grimsby Beach amusement park owner Harry Hilliard Wylie with coming up with the Peach Kings name in recognition of the huge tender fruit crop in the area and the fact their first home rink was a converted fruit storage building on Main Street.
Allingham follows the team and its various incarnations as intermediate and junior-A, B and C squads along with the Peach Kings’ financial ups and downs.
The team folded in 1956 and was revived by a group of local investors in 1968. Since the 2000-01 season, it has been a junior-C powerhouse.
Allingham said she began her research by talking to Marilyn Owen, a longtime team supporter, volunteer and minor hockey convener who has collected her own archive of Peach Kings history and memorabilia.
She credits Owen for being the project’s biggest cheerleader and has dedicated the book to her.
For her part, Owen said she’s happy with the result.
“I think Sarah has done a great job,” she said. “I think it’s a fantastic book.”
“The book brought back good memories for me,” added Marilyn’s husband Al Owen, who drove the team bus in the 1990s.
Allingham noted she also found a lot of information at Grimsby Public Library and Grimsby Museum.
“They were gold mines of information,” Allingham said.
The author started her own business, Edit it, to publish the book, which Allingham said cost her nearly $20,000.
While only 1,000 copies of the book have been printed, Allingham said she will consider a second print run if sales go well.
The book is available for $25 (tax included) via sarah@editit.ca.
Allingham said it can also be purchased at Peach Kings’ home games or at Teddy’s Sports Bar in Grimsby.
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