By Mike Rainone for the News
Among the longstanding and traditional experiences of every winter season for countless families and individuals of all ages has and always will be the refreshing joy of skating and playing on a community outdoor rink.
Whether it be a brisk game of hockey and broomball or an invigorating free-skate it will always be a frosty outdoor adventure that has been hosted on frozen rivers, ponds, slews, and neighbourhood rinks throughout our town and country districts for countless generations.
How much fun it was to find a nice flat spot for our outdoor rink and then scrape and sweep the snow off to the sides and make piles which could be sprinkled with water and would hopefully freeze and stay there for the rest of the winter along with those old wooden benches where we sat to change into our extra socks and skates. Those rinks that were built from scratch on the cold hard ground, and were flooded by hand with a hose that was courtesy of a friendly neighbour. Along the way many communities will kindly offer their water trucks (and later Zambonis), or the friendly Volunteer Fire Department would bring out a truck to thrill the kids and help put on a real smooth flood. Over the last few years Ponoka has been blessed with the addition of the Scott Seaman outdoor skating rink on the north side of the Ponoka Culture and Recreation Complex, which comes complete with boards, hosts games and public skating all season long, and makes use of the ‘warm’ dressing rooms in the complex for changing. Most of our schools also create popular winter outdoor skating rinks for the enjoyment of their students, staff, families, and friends, and on the regular occasion when it has snowed the night before everyone will vigorously work together to clean off the rink before putting on their skates and showing off their twirls and blazing speed.
Our long and proud history of outdoor rinks
Likely the first significant outdoor rink in the Town of Ponoka appeared in the 1920s when a huge ice surface surrounded by sturdy boards, a few street lights and wooden bleachers for fans, and complete with player’s boxes and a ‘heated’ change shack was constructed on 48th Avenue where our last Town Hall was located.
It was here on many a frigid evening or afternoon where our first Ponoka senior hockey teams would play games against other avid squads from throughout Central Alberta and districts, where Minor Hockey and the first rugged Farm Hockey Leagues were born. It was so easy for thousands of town and district folks to dress up very warm and enjoy countless hours of fancy skating and falls on a great spot where so many early romances were most certainly created. On hockey game days or special events (as seen in the historical photo on this page) the rink would be completely surrounded by horse-drawn sleighs, the first Model T cars and trucks, and hundreds of loyal fans from near and far. Another extra bonus at all those glorious outdoor rinks is that even on the very coldest of days you can dress up in three layers of clothes and still enjoy the fun, and on many occasions someone would get a roaring bonfire going, around which everyone could snuggle up on the benches to warm up as well as having a good old fashioned wiener or marshmallow roast and then grabbing a steaming cup of hot chocolate from the big old iron pot. If we lost our puck or ball out in the snow during the game everyone stopped and searched until it was found or had to use a frozen piece of what-ever we could find around the yard to get the hot game going again.
Among my favourite memories of growing up in and around Ponoka so many years ago was spending countless winter hours all day and under the lights at night hanging around the outdoor skating rink next to the curling rink on the grounds of the Alberta Hospital. The rink was always busy with folks of all ages having fun, including the patients and staff of the hospital, the families who lived on the grounds, and lots of always welcome visitors from town and districts. There were special times set aside for public skating, as well as rollicking games of hockey, broomball, crack-the-whip, and all the rest. There was also a big change shack at that age-old rink in which to put on your skates and get warm, and if we needed a treat we could slip next door to the curling rink, but always had to be on our best behavior as the Hospital Commissioner dear old Tom (Dooley) Ryan was out on patrol.
Another milestone in the history of the winter recreation programs and special events for the very active Town and County of Ponoka came in 1947 when then the first indoor arena was built at the south end of Railway Street and would soon be followed by those classic small but friendly curling rinks both in town and in many rural areas. During tournaments, bonspiels, and special winter events and attractions all of these great facilities would always be full of eager competitors of all ages as well as hundreds of avid fans from near and far. I fondly recall that on some nights that big wooden building was so cold that the time clock and the referee’s whistle froze, but the packed and noisy crowds always kept the atmosphere hot and totally delirious.
It is so great that all these exciting and traditional all weather events and facilities are still available for all sorts of family fun in and around our community, so enjoy them at every opportunity this winter but please make sure that the ice surfaces rivers, ponds, lakes, and slews are safe before you use them.