Saginaw has a new Canadian sister city. It is not yet known whether this may become a pathway to a renewed version of the old-time Friendship Games.
An agreement has been reached with the Ontario city of Barrie, which is north of Toronto in the same way that Saginaw is north of Detroit.
Our prior partner was with Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., for the Friendship Games from 1977 to 1999. The communities took annual turns hosting everything from basketball for the kids to bocce (lawn bowling) for old-timers.
Junior hockey fans of the Saginaw Spirit will recognize Barrie, a town of 150,000, as a rival. Indeed, the pursuit of the current Memorial Cup championship, through City Manager Tim Morales among local leaders, created the link with Barrie.
A difference exists between the old Soo and the new Barrie connections. This arrangement is formed through People to People International, similar to Saginaw’s 60-year-old sister city pact with Tokushima, Japan. In fact, our resulting Japanese Tea House was among sites visited this week when Mayor Brenda Moore welcomed her Barrie counterpart, Alex Nuttall, with a tour of local attractions in the central parks.
Saginaw never has had a Friendship Games-type tradition with Tokushima — or for that matter, with Awka, Nigeria, or with Juarez, Mexico, or now, with Amanokrom, Ghana, where Councilman George Copeland joined a delegation last summer with his employer, Saginaw Valley State University.
As Morales has outlined to the City Council, Barrie offers potential for a higher level of interaction simply because of the closer proximity.
SVSU also will play a part if the new arrangement remains on course, along with Delta College and local institutions, including the schools. Barrie’s commitment is reflected in their formation of an International Relations Committee, long before they knew Saginaw (and Flint) as U.S.A. participants in the Canadian Hockey League.
Mayor Moore said: “This relationship will be mutually beneficial for both cities and provide us with new opportunities for exchange programs, cultural enrichment, curriculum enhancement, and economic development as a result of the relationship. My hope is that together, we can support one another and continue to improve in every area while also providing our community the opportunity to develop new friendships with the citizens of Barrie that will last for years to come.”
Saginaw Township was a partner with Cambridge, Ont., for the Can-Amera Games from 1972 through 2006. Both Can-Amera and the Friendship Games were canceled by the Canadian communities, with officials citing a decline in public interest.
One factor in common was that “billet” families hosted visiting children for the weekend, similar to season-long housing for the teen-age players in Barrie, Saginaw and other junior hockey towns. The Soo also has a junior team, but during the Friendship Games era the adult-league Gears preceded the Spirit.
