Dave McKigney is on this week’s featured card. 52 Pick Me Up is a community-based sports heritage project celebrating the year of Sport in Aurora.

Through the collaborative effort between The Aurora Heritage Authority, the Aurora Museum & Archives, Boulevard Design, Sport Aurora and the Aurora Sport Hall of Fame a set of collectable cards will be released weekly at a variety of events and locations throughout the Town of Aurora.  The distribution point for each card will be published in The Auroran and here on the community FOCUS site.

Pick a card, any card, collect them all!

Card of the week : The Five of Diamonds

Dave McKigney picked up his first bear “Terrible Ted” after a carnival show went bankrupt.  He traveled North America wrestling Ted and other bears and to match his opponent he let his hair and beard grow wild taking on the nicknames “Bearman“, “Wildman” and “Canadian Wildman“.   A long time Aurora resident Dave McKigney lived on Yonge Street in the historic downtown core as well as in a log home in the North West area where his bear lived with him. If you’r interested in learning more about the Wildman’s story be sure to check out Jim Freedman’s 1988 book Drawing Heat.

The Aurora Museum & Archives

This week’s card featuring Dave McKigney Pearson has been sponsored by the The Aurora Museum & Archives. Re-Established in 2014 The Aurora Museum & Archives has recently launched their exhibit A Legacy of Sport in the Aurora Room of The Historic Church Street School.

If you are interested in getting in the game and sponsoring a card, a hand or even an entire suit please contact any of the partners as to existing opportunities.

Partner Profile: Boulevard Design is a graphic design and communications studio with over 25 years of experience. Our Approach is straightforward and concise regardless of the size of the project, we’ll work to effectively communicate your message. We’ve earned a solid reputation for consistent performance, respecting timelines and budgets to deliver results seamlessly.

Comment by Michael Krochter submitted 2015/07/31: “My father was a friend of Dave’s. I used to go to his place when I was young. Also worked for him putting up and taking down the ring around Ontario.“