# Does Anyone Ice Skate Anymore?



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm teaching some more grandkids how to ice skate and have been giving skating some thought.

One of the fondest memories of my youth was ice skating. Where I come from we loved to skate...hockey, figure skating, speed skating, even barrel jumping. Skating was as popular back home as skiing is here. Every little town had a skating rink, usually two, one for hockey and another for figure skating. Many of the farms had a stock pond, kept clear of snow in the winter for skating. What a blast.

Soon as you were 3 or 4 your folks would strap on some rusty hand-me-down skates, hopefully with two runners, and push ya out on the frozen pound. Ouch...but we learned quickly, it seemed to come natural.

During our adolescence it was common to have big bon-fire parties centered around a weekend hockey game. In the morning the guys would go out and groom the rink and ice down the beer in a snowbank. In the afternoon we would don gym shorts and elbow pads, throw away the hockey rules book, and just kill one another, while our dates would sat around the campfire acting like they were interested in the game, the crackling noise of the fire drowning out the Beatles on the girl's transistor radios.

I dated a girl that was a skater. We tried all that girly figure skating stuff, but I was just a klutz. Never bothered me much, but taking her to the emergency ward often was a drag. We had a big canal near town and sometimes it froze so smooth you could skate on it for miles. Her and I would park a car two or three miles away and skate to it from another vehicle. Several times we tied a bedsheet to our skates and held the corners with our hands making a sail. If the wind was right we could go for ever, staying on course by pulling on the bedsheet like one would do parasailing. It was delightful.

After high school their was college. I didn't go, but my skating buddies did. Skating took on a new level. There was speed skating, barrel jumping, and hockey. Speed skating was intense. Many times we would "train" by having someone pull us across the ice with an old jeep while hanging on for dear life by a water ski tow rope. Falling down at 35 mph was not an option. Barrel jumping was good fun and required less training, but more alcohol, than speed skating. We used metal 30-gallon barrels. I could do 7 to 9, all dependant on my blood alcohol level. Then there was hockey, weekend pick-up games at the colleges and universities. I loved it, Animal House on skates, frat house against frat house mostly. It was rough, geeze, many went home with cuts on their forehead, usually not from hockey pucks, but from smashing beer cans. 

I taught my wife and kids to skate. My wife picked it up quickly and is still pretty good today all things considered. The boys always wore skates while ice-fishing. Bored quickly ice-fishing, they would skate around our set-up scaring all the fish away. My boys are far away now and don't skate much. My daughter is close and I take her and her family out when I can.

blah, blah, blah, Any skaters out there?

Barrel jumping:


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

:mrgreen: great stories. I loved the parasailing one. I can picture it now. :lol: 

I have only ice skated at those new fangled ice rinks that the olympics brought to Utah. Its fun but gets crowded. I friend of mine's dad ice fishes a lot. He takes a shovel and some skates. he drills his holes then makes a long path in the snow and away he goes whith his hands behind his back. I'm sure it passes the time while its slow.

I dated a girl who went to the jr olympics for figure skating. I only skated with her once. I felt like a three year old running against Usain Bolt. :lol: Its awesome to watch people look so in control on ice!!


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Thought about this when Logan reopened the outdoor ice skating rink. When they shut down the skate rentals a year or so ago no one came- no one owned thier own skates. As a kid we had two outdoor rinks-
one a large banana shaped pond and 1 behind my house that was maybe 75 yards long and 30 yards wide.
The large one was full every evening with Bon fires going and people roasting hot dogs and mellows .The smaller one behind my house just had the local neighborhood kids basically. I had hockey and figure skates but not everyone had a pair . So we played hockey in penny loafers so everyone was equal.
Last time I was back in my home town I drove by the old Mill pond--------- only a couple of people
were there. Certainly not the same - then again we didn't have video games


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Where I grew up, the elementary school had an ice rink, or at least that's what we called it. It was a large area - roughly 30 yards by about 50 yards, with a nice dirt berm around it. After the first real good frost of fall, the janitor would take a tractor out and mow down all the weeds that had grown over the summer and then rake them all out. Then come first good freeze, good enough to freeze the dirt, the fire hydrant at the far end would be opened up and the "rink" would be flooded to about 4-5 inches deep to make our ice rink. 

As kids, we all had skates as well. As Goob stated, the first graders mostly had the double bladers. After that, it was anyones pot-luck on what skates a kid had. Mens, women's, white, black, figure skates or hockey blades - it didn't matter. They were usually hand-me downs or what you'd pick up at the second-hand store. Sometime before I was in school, the Local Lion's club or someone built a bunch of benches by the rink so we had a place to sit and put on our skates at recess. 

Recess hockey games were at the far end, and free skating nearest the school. A few kids had real hockey sticks, but most of us had a busted shovel handle with a board screwed and duct taped to the end. I'm not sure we ever actually had a real puck. Tuna cans wrapped in electrical tape seemed to work as well as anything else and you just prayed no one could get a shot off the ice. There were no sporting goods stores that sold them, and there was no internet to order what you wanted so we just made do with what we could. 

About every week, the ice would need to be renewed. We had no zamboni, so the school janitor would just put a blade on the small ford tractor and would shave the ice down. Then about once a week, he'd flood it again with another inch of fresh water. 

We jumped garbage cans, kids, and dogs if anyone was brave enough to kneel down on the ice. Nothing was worse than taking a blade in the back. 

For us, it all ended with elementary school. Once in junior high, a kid had too many chores or was in sports, or lived out of town and couldn't get a ride in just to skate, and just didn't have time. Besides, it got dark around 4:30 anyway. 

Now, the only ice skating my kids know is on the fastest ice on earth - only about 10 minutes from my house. Last summer when I took my kids back to where I grew up, I showed them our "ice rink." It was a different age, that is for sure.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Great stories Packfish and Gary.

Many from the Midwest came to Evanston during the oil boom and brought their love of skating, especially hockey, with them. For a number of years we had a regulation outdoor hockey rink and a youth hockey league. There were bleachers, warming huts and bathrooms. It was sponsored by a joint effort of the local gas and oli companies and the Park District. I was a neat deal, but it's all gone now, disbanded.

For the last 10 years or so the Evanston Park District has maintained the ice ponds in town for skating. Ice skates can be rented at the Recreation Center daily for a nominal fee. So skating is becoming more popular here again. Also, the city has an annual family skating party with free skate rental and food. 

Pure Americana


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## Huntoholic (Sep 17, 2008)

You probably looked real sexy in your younger days in those cute little figure skating outfits. :lol: :lol:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Huntoholic said:


> You probably looked real sexy in your younger days in those cute little figure skating outfits. :lol: :lol:


ha ha ha

There are those that say in my younger days I looked sexy in anything! :lol:

Speaking of that I went to my 40th high school reunion last year. It was terrible; everyone there was old! :wink:


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

I spend more time at the local rinks then anywhere else lately. My son who is now 10yrs old started playing hockey when he was 5. He plays on a County Youth Squirt team and also was picked to play on the County Select Travel Team. I head coach one and assitant coach the other. Many weeks we are at the rink 5 nights in a row.

We built a small rink in our backyard and have been waiting for it to freeze up. Should be good to go this weekend if it stays cold. Another friend built a rink which is 36'x72' in his back yard , which the boys had a new years eve game and started the 3rd period right at 12am.

I grew up playing pond hockey back east and played regularly right up to college. I still play when I can and am on the ice probably 5x's a week.


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I used to fish Hyrum a lot when I was at Utah State. I'd haul all my fishing stuff, skates, stick, puck and a snow shovel down the hill. I did a lot of drills while a lot of bait was robbed.

In the next week or two I'm hoping to put a rink in the backyard. Apparently my wife thinks we need a kitchen floor first :roll: I wonder if it will mess up the rink when moose walk through backyard :?


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## JAT83 (Sep 9, 2007)

Oh man, it has been a number of years since I went...er...tried ice skating. :lol: I think I should go again...however my wife would probably laugh watching me. j/k. I can skate, I just can't dance! :lol:


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## duneman101 (Nov 6, 2009)

when i was a kid we would spend from sun up to sun down skating on the ice rink at merlin olsen park in logan, the first couple times were with figure skates, i sucked so bad and i fell in the middle of the rink and some skating by accidentally cut off the end of my pinky finger. after they sowed it back on, a nurse told me to try hockey skates next time, that worked so much better.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

I used to skate quite a bit back in jr high and high school. Played on the hockey team in highschool (when I wasnt wrapped up in football). Havent put them on in about 10 years. I was cleaning out a closet a couple weeks ago & come across them. Kinda want to try them out again. Anybody out there played any of those rec hockey leagues?


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

As a kid growing up on the farm I used to get a new pair of Ice Skates every year for Christmas. we had a series of three small ponds on the farm that were fun to skate on. 
Sadly, I haven't had a pair on for 20 years, but probably good for my ankles that I haven't.


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## skating miner (Jun 27, 2008)

Haha its funny hearing you old timers stories. I started playing hockey when i was 10 and played salt lake county rec. Now I'm on the varsity hockey team at my high school and were looking to win state next month. 
Stevo if you wanna get back in to playing hockey i would suggest going to drop-in. Its just a pick up game for whoever wants to play. They usually have it saturday nights at county ice center in murray. Another option is stick and puck where you dress up in all your equipment but you just go out and shoot around. Thats usually at accord ice center in west valley on sunday mornings.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Hey...I need a goalie for my kid to shoot on...any takers?


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## duneman101 (Nov 6, 2009)

gdog, that is freakin awesome. how thick is that ice? how long to freeze smooth like that, what brand of zambone (*sp) are you using? :lol:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

That's nice gdog


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## mjschijf (Oct 1, 2007)

They recently opened an ice skating igloo in St. George. I haven't been there yet, but I've been wanting to check it out. 

I've only been ice skating once, about 3 years ago, and it wasn't a pretty sight. :lol:


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

duneman101 said:


> gdog, that is freakin awesome. how thick is that ice? how long to freeze smooth like that, what brand of zambone (*sp) are you using? :lol:


The ice is about 3-5" thick depending on the slope of the yard. It took about a week to freeze solid. It took this last spell of cold nights to get it done.

I buildt a Zamboni out of pvc 3/4" pipe. Basically a "T" with holes on one side of the top of the T. To get it really smooth...I've found a trick. Take buckets of hot water from my hot tub and toss it on the surface at night...smooths it right out!

Kids have been skating on it every day...been a blast.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

duneman101 said:


> when i was a kid we would spend from sun up to sun down skating on the ice rink at merlin olsen park in logan, the first couple times were with figure skates, i sucked so bad and i fell in the middle of the rink and some skating by accidentally cut off the end of my pinky finger. after they sowed it back on, a nurse told me to try hockey skates next time, that worked so much better.


Ouch!

I got knocked off my feet playing hockey and landed on and broke my cheek bone. My eye was swollen shut for a long time. It was painful, impossible to chew food.


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## duneman101 (Nov 6, 2009)

gdog said:


> duneman101 said:
> 
> 
> > gdog, that is freakin awesome. how thick is that ice? how long to freeze smooth like that, what brand of zambone (*sp) are you using? :lol:
> ...


thats awesome, i am in the process of talking my old lady into it... she just thinks my 4 year old will kill him self out there though... :roll:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

When we lived in Murray, my wife and I got invited by some of the LDS folks to go with them ice skating... its probably a good thing I didn't go. It'd have taken one time biffing it and busting something and we would have had to find our own ride home. :lol: Thats why I don't downhill ski either... I like having all my joints intact when I'm done doing something.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Riverrat77 said:


> I like having all my joints intact when I'm done doing something.


I do to but that ended last Sep for me.So you better watch out playing softball. :lol: :mrgreen:


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

I was looking through the ogden Ice sheets hockey schedule and noticed they had a new feature on tues nights at 6:00. Developmental hockey. It said all ages and I really need to work on my puck handleing and shooting skills so I decided to give it a try..

I showed up and asked the clerk if there were any other adults who did this. She did not know.
In the locker room was 1 10 yearold kid and he siad there were toher adults most weeks.
I was the last one on the ice and to my embarrasment the oldest kid out there was maybe 15 but the majority of the kids were around 7 or 8... :mrgreen: I felt like a real jacka** with all of their parents watching.. Kind of like when Kramer was in Karate!!! :lol: 

I may go again next week so I can get to be as good as those kids! :lol:


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

I used to play hockey back in the day in high school, and played a little during my grad school days with the faculty and students in the college. (we had a sizable contingent of Canadian faculty). Great fun even though my skills never were anything to brag about. I hadn't strapped up the skates for about 12-13 years until my daughter wanted me to teach her how to skate this past year. Great fun for both me and her. I was a bit rusty though, she is still amused by the glorious wipeout I did this last time during our most recent lesson. Good times!


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