A dinner and roast was held at the Royal Canadian Legion on Friday night to celebrate Hank Hartenberger's long career with the Soo Line Boxing Club.

City Councillor Bill MacKenzie spoke to extend his thanks on behalf of the City of Weyburn and announce that Mayor Don Schlosser proclaimed Friday Hank Hartenberger Day in Weyburn. MacKenzie also told a story about when he hired kids to do yard work for him and Hartenberger would come over.

"As he approached, I would suck in my gut because I knew what was coming. A shot to the tummy," MacKenzie said.

One of Hartenberger's most successful boxers, Morgan Williams, came back to Weyburn to celebrate Hartenberger's retirement. Williams, who is the president of Boxing Saskatchewan, along with the vice-president of Boxing Saskatchewan Mike Kucik, presented Hartenberger with a gold Boxing Saskatchewan watch.

Williams recognized just how much Hartenberger meant to him while he was training to become a boxer.

"I can say that I am what I am today because of that man," Williams said pointing to Hartenberger during his speech.

Kucik also took the microphone to tell a story about Hartenberger. He remembered when everyone would go back to the Legion for drinks after the fights and Hartenberger would always quiz them on what happened in each bout.

At first, no one could ever remember what happened and who won what bout, but everyone eventually paid extra attention to the fights because they knew Hartenberger was going to quiz them afterwards.

Williams returned to the microphone to tell more stories. He apologized because not all of his brothers could make it, but he did recognize them, including former NHL hockey player Dave "Tiger" Williams.

"He said that some of the techniques that Hank taught him won't work on some of the guys on the ice," Williams said.

Williams also remembered when his family would be invited over to the Hartenbergers' for Christmas dinner.

It was a tradition, that after dinner the boys would go down the basement and fight.

"We would go down the basement, put on the boxing gloves and I'd always end up crying," laughed Williams.

Also speaking was another former boxer Don Grant, who Hartenberger coached to two bronze medals.

Grant remembered the first time that he walked into the Soo Line Boxing Club. As he described it, he was "a little kid getting in there and there are all these gorillas."

Hartenberger walked over to Grant and did his normal greeting. Hartenberger grabbed Grant's biceps until it hurt and then gave him a shot to the gut.

Grant was then given a pair of boxing gloves and Hartenberger started working with him. Grant remembers when he was practicing punching with Hartenberger and he turned around and ended up punching Grant.

He also remembered his first bout. He was a very small boxer and Hartenberger had to tape his shorts up because they didn't fit.

Grant presented Hartenberger with a box of cigars because he knew how much Hartenberger loves cigars. He remembered when he boxed with the boxing club and taking trips to the U.S.A.

"All of the border guards thought the Soo Line boxers all smoked cigars," Grant said.

He added that, as a coach, Hartenberger had great judgment. A boxer might only have a couple of fights under his belt, but, according at Grant, Hartenberger could tell if that boxer was better than just a couple of bouts.

Hartenberger's daughter, Elizabeth, traveled from Toronto to Weyburn to be with her father during his celebration.

She told stories about when she was in high school and how guys were always hanging around the house because of her father.

"Having a dad as a boxing coach was a high school girl's dream come true," Elizabeth said.

When the guys were over boxing, she remembers that she wasn't allowed in the room while the guys were fighting. She always ended in the room anyway despite the displeasure of her father.

One of the stories told often on Friday was of Hartenberger checking to see how slippery the roads were. He stopped in the middle of the Trans-Canada Highway, got out of his vehicle, got down on all fours and felt the road. He got back into the vehicle and said, "You're right, the road is pretty icy."

Hartenberger himself got up to the microphone to speak. He said that the best boxers he has coached were Kelly Nelson and Morgan Williams. He said that people ask him all the time who would have won in a fight between the two.

"I don't know who would have won, but it would have been a good fight," Hartenberger said.

Hartenberger told stories about previous boxers that he had coached and said that they one most of their matches. When Hartenberger got to Grant, Grant said "everyone wins most of them."

Hartenberger ended by thanking everyone for coming to help him celebrate and the ceremony ended with a bell ringing, similar to the bell used at ringside to end a bout.

Hartenberger has been involved in boxing for over 60 years. In 1956, he won the provincial middleweight title and in 1991 he was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. In 1995, he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.