Speaking Volumes

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FEBRUARY 2, 2009

"The Hardest Part of Skating is the Ice" ~ Author Unkown

While lots of people were home preparing for their Super Bowl parties yesterday afternoon, my husband and I were on Lebanon Green watching the few remaining stragglers ice skating. Continued low temps this winter have been a boon for ice fisherman and kids and adults alike, have been in their glory enjoying the skating. It's been years since I've ice skated but I have fond memories of doing so. My dad was quite the skater; he could skate as well backwards as forwards and it was he who taught me how to skate. I can remember the thrill of graduating from double runners, to my first pair of single blade white skates with pom poms. I can also remember the bruised knees, elbows and wounded pride that came from my many falls. Though I never was as good a skater as my dad, I sure had fun. My girl friends and I would walk a couple of miles on cold winter nights just to skate. My dad always thought the guys that showed up too had something to do with my willingness to brave the cold, but I'd never tell! Bonfires, hot chocolate, whips, trains, races, a few stolen kisses. What could be better?

When I got married and our family moved to Columbia, I used to take my girls to Rec Field to skate on the long, gone flooded ice rink. We really enjoyed skating there. Safe and fun. We used to go to Bolton Ice Rink, and Uconn too, now and then. One time we even skated at the famous Rockefeller Center Rink.
Last time I saw my skates, one of them was hanging on my front door as a Christmas decoration. Maybe it's time to buy a new pair and get out there and twirl a few turns again...

My all-time favorite book with a skating angle:

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge

and here's a few others to get you in the mood...

Murder on Ice by Alina Adams F ADAMS
Angelina Ice Skates by Katharine Holabird E HOLABIRD
Ice skating! : from axels to Zambonis by Dan Gutman. J 796.912 GUTMAN

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Comments

Joanne said, on Feb. 8 at 2:29PM
I can relate to your ice skating experiences. I,too, had pom-pom adorned skates. Saturdays were often spent skating on the nearby ponds or when we were really lucky, we were given a ride to the big lake where they even had an inside fireplace and hot chocolate. I just loved skating on the lake. It was such a free feeling. Funny how it never seemed too cold to go skating those days. Lebanon green was the place to skate when my girls were young and now my grandchildren skate there. Nancy Bergeron's water color painting of skating on the Lebaonon Green evoke nostalgic feelings for me of days gone past.

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a neighbor said, on Mar. 13 at 6:27PM
Your notes reminded me of the freedom to skate in the cold night at rec park, by turning on the lights and turning them off when we were done. No security, no oversight, no gates, no open and closing times--just having fun by ourselves and knowing what to do responsibly. Also, recalling the day when my brother and I skated clear around Columbia Lake, leaping over large cracks and taking breaks on lonely docks, we took hockey sticks along with us. It was a sunny day and the ice was perfect--no snow on it. Other earlier memories include my Dad pulling us along on a small sled with a back and arms all tucked in with blankets while he skated holding the cotton rope. Another time we shoveled a nice big rectangle for the neighborhood to use and we also had fun night skating at the PB with bonfires, skating and whips. Some of us had home made pom poms, and some of us had bells on our skates. What happened to those days?

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ckubala said, on Mar. 14 at 8:36AM
In response to comments by a neighbor: Your post painted a vivid picture of days and fun gone by. This is just the flavor I was trying to present in telling about my memories of skating with my dad. Nostalgia at its' best. My dad used to take me sledding down on hill behind sand lots near our home in New Britain. At the bottom was a brook. Sometimes we'd fly down that hill and he's stop the sled just before the brook and others, we'd just fly right over it. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time! When I was older and able to sled alone, the town would actually close our hill (much smaller than Utley) to traffic and we kids would have a grand time, safe and lots of fun. You hear it all the time...what happened to those days? Do our kids really have as much fun as we did? Honestly, I don't think so. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like the cold. Still, I bundled up myself and the kids and took them out to build snowmen, to throw a few snowballs, to skate at rec field, to sled on big and little hills. Why? cause that's what my dad did with me. Once again, thanks for sharing your wonderful memories.