BarTalk June 2005
Volume 17, Number 3

A joyful moment for the Cariboo Bar Association

by Frank C Kraemer

Everyone likes a story, particularly when it has a happy ending. This story began, it seems, sometime before I became Executive Director of CBABC. In February 2002, I attended the Cariboo Bar Meeting in Dawson Creek. During that meeting, as part of the social activities, a cribbage tournament was held. At the conclusion of the tournament there was much lamenting of the fact that the beloved McNeill Cup had mysteriously disappeared.

As a side note, I have subsequently learned that the Cup has been part of the traditions of the Cariboo Bar Association for more than 50 years. It has recorded various triumphs through the years; most famously the results of the golf tournament held at annual bar meetings. Former Treasurer of the Law Society of B.C., Robert Dick, Q.C., has for many years taken an active interest in the McNeill Cup. He donated the base for it and has studiously recorded the winners of the various competitions.

Sometime later at a Local and County Bar Presidents’ Meeting, at the request of Peter Warner, Q.C. who was then the President of the Cariboo Bar Association, I agreed to publish a request for the return of the Cup, “no questions asked.” The Cup remained unreturned.

Now the plot thickens! Recently, one of my staff was rearranging a storage area in the back recesses of the CBABC offices and came across what appeared to be a Cup. When the Cup was brought to me I immediately recognized it as the McNeill Cup (much to my dismay!). Attached to the Cup was a yellow sticky with the name of one of CBABC’s past-presidents as well as the name of a member of the Cariboo Bar. I surmised that what had happened is that the past-president had brought the Cup to Vancouver to have the plate engraved with the names of winners of whatever tournament that President had participated in, and somehow the Cup had disappeared into a back cupboard. This story does have a happy ending: I had the great pleasure at the Annual Meeting of the Cariboo Bar held at Hills 108 Health Ranch, May 13-15 of this year, to return the Cup to its rightful owner. As you can see from the picture, great pleasure was expressed by the members of the Cariboo Bar when I presented it to Cariboo Bar President Heidi Zetzsche with Robert Dick, Q.C. looking on. While I regret that the Cariboo Bar was deprived of its beloved McNeill Cup for a number of years, I must say it was a great pleasure to be able to return it to them, after so many years away from its true home.

This article was published in the June 2005 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.