Skate it Off

Before I found Sunday Settle-downs, I used ice skating as a way to relax. Whip Hill provided the perfect place to play a little pick-up pond hockey. Each winter my friends and I would go skating after school up at the vernal pool. The area was just the right size for four on four or five on five (including goalies) games, and the rink was even complete with a rock formationed back-drop that also functioned as a splendid ricochet spot for firing slap shots.

For a few years at night the resident groundskeeper/caretaker would pump water from the pond onto the ice to create a fresh and pristine playing surface for the next-day skaters. If it snowed we would all pitch in to clear the ice.

Then we each would throw our stick into a pile in the middle and someone would skate up to the mass, bend over, and start tossing sticks left and right creating the teams. Naturally we each took a role and started playing. If you got tired or got a cramp there was a nice nook under a huge pine tree where you could rest, drink hot chocolate, tie your laces, etc. If you were injured (not severely of course) you were told to, “Skate if off.” (Yes, this was still more relaxing then staring at laundry in the washing machine as it agitated.)

Those were some great times. At times there were some great skaters up there too. I loved those great times.

Though there were also others ponds and venues, I will leave those great times for another time. For instance, now I will not write about the two man-made pond-like rinks that were dug into this field in Reading. No, now I will not tell of the gigantic ditches that were filled with water during the Winter by the City so that the ice could form for the citizens. Those great times may come another time.

Best of times to you,

~~D Graf

P.S. I need a new pair of skates. Can anyone guess what kind I used to have?