PAWPAW'S MESSAGES TO MY GRANDSONS 53 - Ice Skating On Constitution Pond

PAWPAW'S  MESSAGES TO MY GRANDSONS

Pawpaw loves, Bryson, Connor and Archer!

Ice Skating On Constitution Pond 

   Winters in northern Ohio can be brutal. The temperature where water freezes is thirty-two degrees.  In an Ohio Winter, you can go for weeks without the temperature rising to thirty-two. On the bright side, when it is cold enough for water to freeze, we could ice skate.

   Down in our underground basement, we had a box of ice skates of various sizes. My older brother Skip’s ice skates were black. My sister Sherry’s ice skates were a pretty, girly white. All the girls had whole ice skates. My ice skates were black like my brother’s skates.

   Once you get the hang of balancing on two thin silver blades, the most difficult part of ice skating is putting the darn things on! You can’t put them on at home and walk anywhere on the blades so you must wear snow boots to the ice, take off your boots and put on your skates without getting your feet wet with snow. Ice skates require a lot of support so there are laces that rise high above your ankle. After swapping out your boots while trying not to get any snow on your socks, you still have to slip into the ice skates and tighten row after row of laces and finally tying them. If the laces are very long ones, we’d wrap them around the top of the skates several times up by our calf.

   We were lucky that  we lived in West Main Street about two blocks from Dairy Queen because behind the ice cream vendor was Constitution Park which had swings, a pavillion and most importantly a pond. In Summers, we fished in the pond. In Winters, we ice skated as soon as it froze over. It seemed like everyone ice skated back then. The pond was usually filled with skaters of all ages from little children skating as they held the hand of a parent, to elementary students, to teens to parents and grandparents.

   A fifty-five gallon barrel was filled with firewood. Once the firewood was on fire, it provided everyone with a place to warm up when we got too cold. It was also a great place to talk while we stood in a circle around the barrel holding our hands  close to the flames for warmth. Some times, we even brought a thermos filled with hot cocoafor a warming drink. I always thought that skating with all the community, family and friends was especially magical at twilight for some reason.

   On days when the adults were at work and we didn’t have school to attend, us kids would practice skating as fast as we could. Or we’d practice jumping and landing. My older brother and sister could easily switch from skating forward to skating backwards. My brother and the big boys played ice hockey there too.

   During the long, cold, gray northern Ohio Winters, ice skating was another way to have fun. I miss it. I miss the camaraderie of neighbors of all ages enjoying something fun together. I miss the smiles. I miss the conversations around the fire barrel. I miss it all.