Ice Skating Of The Past

I am sure that I have remembered ice skating of the past before but---as many of you know several creeks in our area have run big, resulting in some massive skating ponds.

I will admit that skating on these outdoor “rinks” does present challenges. I remember the days of taking the grain shovel with you when you desired to do a little skating as the ice needed to be cleared first, but you could skate while making a path with the shovel.

If you were lucky and the wind had already removed the snow you might be able to skate a good mile before turning around. Of course, there were always stray weeds and other growth that had to be skirted but that was part of the game.

You may remember playing Crack the Whip, which in retrospect was a rather dangerous thing. No helmets or safety equipment in those days. Maybe you enjoyed a little cow puck hockey game or something. I am not sure I would be silly enough to try ice skates, but the old bon fires, hot dogs and marshmallows that went along with some of those organized skating parties would be fun to attend again. It was not uncommon for that to be 4-H or just neighborhood winter fun.