About half a century ago, a group of neighbours came together – with a little help from the city – to add a little something to their outdoor rink.
Ever since, residents in the St. Mary’s Hospital area of Kitchener have enjoyed not only the well-kept sheet of ice at Glendale Park, but also the rink house.
Inside that house, children get a chance to take a break from the cold, warm up and get ready to go back on the ice.
“It gives them a break from the wind,” says Sterling Milley, a volunteer who floods the rink multiple times each week.
“They go in and have their hot chocolate and snacks.”
Equipment – both for flooding the ice and for neighbourhood children who might not be able to afford their own sticks and helmets – was also stored inside.
Three weeks ago, parts of the structure and its contents were destroyed by fire, believed to be caused by improper use of a heater.
“It destroyed our heater (and) our flooding equipment,” says Jen Tacoma.
Much of the building’s roof was destroyed, and the part of the building that didn’t burn was still subject to smoke damage.
It hasn’t been used since, and some of its regular users are concerned it may be torn down and replaced with a smaller equipment shed.
A fundraiser to help pay for repairs was postponed due to last week’s flood at St. Mary’s General Hospital.
Instead, it was held Monday – with some of the same firefighters who showed up when the flames broke out returning to flood the rink and offer their support.
“There are a lot of people in the neighbourhood that are very fond of this rink,” says Tacoma, one of the fundraiser’s organizers.
City officials say they want to work with the rink’s volunteers to help them raise the $28,000 or so needed for a new structure.
