The Matchcover Storyteller

Sports at the local level might be personified in Jeff Purvey of Peterborough, Ontario.  Jeff was born in Toronto in 1922.   It was above a fish store his father had operated since 1919 and he never got far from that  — this 20-strike matchcover is for Jeff Purvey’s Seafood & Tavern in The Electric City.*  The restaurant will celebrate its 70th year in Peterborough in 2026.

Jeff got into restaurants after a WW II Army experience.  His father and he had 3 locations in Toronto and then Jeff moved to Peterborough in 1956.  Over the next 30 years, he sponsored 35 different sports teams across hockey, baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer.  He was founder and charter president of the Peterborough Gyro Club.  Jeff often reached into his own pocket to support teams; his teams won several city championships.

Jeff died in 1986and in 1992 he was inducted into the Peterborough & District Sports Hall of Fame.

* Peterborough is called “The Electric City” as in 1884 it was the first Ontario municipality to light its streetlights with electricity, powered by the Otonabee River.