SPEERS — Joe and Anne Lukowich raised their family of six children in a house in Speers. They moved away in 1968.
Michael and Ed Lukowich were renowned curlers with Ed becoming a two-time Brier champion. Lenard and Morris were renowned hockey players with Morris playing in the WHA and NHL with the Winnipeg Jets.
Morris and Len returned to Speers recently and visited the current owner of the house, Wayne Baldwin, who gave them a tour evoking old memories. A beam in the basement has Morris’s initials carved into the wood.
When the WHA folded in 1979, the Jets were among four teams absorbed by the NHL. Under the NHL’s admittance terms, these teams could only protect a fraction of their roster, and Lukowich was one of the few players Winnipeg managed to retain. The early NHL years were difficult for the Jets, but Lukowich quickly emerged as the team's star and was appointed Winnipeg’s captain for the 1980-81 season.
