No place like a home-made ice rink

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, February 01, 2004 | Cindi Lash

[Willie Green]

Like just about everyone else in Western Pennsylvania, Thomas and Nancy Songer and their two sons avidly tuned in to the daily weather forecasts over the past couple of weeks.

Unlike just about everyone else in Western Pennsylvania, the Songers exulted each time they heard that they were in for yet another day of snow, sleet and shivers.

[Willie Green]

Nice idea, if you have room in the back yard and the weather is cooperative.
Growing up, we were fortunate to have a small pond within reasonable walking distance,
and 3 much larger ponds if somebody's parent was willing to drive.
But the memorable "challenge" was skating through the woods on some of the frozen creeks. There wasn't much room to really pick-up speed and skate any distance. The creeks were small and shallow, and you had to constantly dodge the logs and rocks that were sticking up through the ice. But the novelty of skating through the woods made it interesting and memorable.

[Willie Green]

ping

[dennisw]

But home-built rinks are hugely popular in Canada and in the Northern United States, where the rituals of their construction and the roles they played in the childhoods of hockey and skating stars is the stuff of lore. Wayne Gretzky practiced in his back yard..............


His dad just ran a garden hose into the backyard and then kept it groomed.

[Tax-chick]

Sounds like it could make northern winters tolerable. I love ice skating, but we've always lived at the coast or in the south ... not cooperative weather.

[Solson]

Living in the North, home made rinks are nothing new. They're everywhere here in MN. There are many things to do in the winter in the North...despite what people think. :)

[Reaganwuzthebest]

The only thing I liked about ice skating was playing hockey, what a blast. These days it would be straight to the ground.

[Tax-chick]

My husband interviewed for a job in Minneapolis, before he got the offer here in Charlotte. I'm glad they didn't want him up there! Maybe some decade when all the kids are older ... I like drinking wine in front of a fire, with the snow falling outside the picture window (double-pane insulated ...)

[BoozeHag]

Thanks for the memories.....I thought I was the only one who like to "creek skate".

[MoralSense]

We've got a back yard rink bigger than that, and it formed all by itself after our first two big snowstorms, which were followed by near-total thaws, and then a cold snap. We've got a marshy section of the yard. The ice has turned out perfect. (North Andover, MA)

[BoozeHag]

We did our fair share of pond skating in northern ohio...traded the skates in every year for another pair. I used to hate it when the only skates that fit me were black (boy) skates! I still have a pair hanging in the shed, although I live in the mid-atlantic area now. I do have a nice coating of ice on the pool....

[Western Phil]

This is the third year for my son's system here in east central Illinois (Champaign area). He found the 24' wide plastic at Menards. About a month is about all they can hope for here with global warming and all that. Doesn't look like our ground hog will see his shadow tomorrow and I heard a cardnal sing this morning (15 degrees).

[Don W]

My dad used to attach the garden hose to the clothesline over the backyard and flood our vegetable garden. The first skate was usually late November.

I still can't skate worth beans 32 years after we moved across town from that house, but I still have wonderful memories.

Now I live on the WET coast. Sometimes, I even miss snow. Not very often, though

[Solson]

It's a great city...but you've got to be a little "weatherproof."

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Every year my father would flood our back porch and we had our own ice rink. The only problem was watching out for the sliding glass doors into the family room.

This thread has made me remember how fortunate I was growing up. We always lived on a lake or had a pond in the back for skating.

[Willie Green]

I thought I was the only one who like to "creek skate".

Well many creeks seldom have good conditions for skating.
The ice can be too thin due to water flowing underneath...
or often there's simply too much snow blanketing the surface...
but every now and then, Nature cooperates and it's fun to go "exploring" outside the boundaries of the pond!!!