Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Remember Whensday: Ice Skating


This is probably the only picture I have of myself wearing ice skates. The year was 1963 and my dad and Sandland brother were with me outside our home in Aurora, Ontario. Dad is wearing a sweater knitted by Marie, a lady who lived with my grandmother for many years. I don't recall where we skated or if we had a backyard rink that year. I know we were not at an indoor arena.

I never was a good skater, in fact you could call me a terrible ice skater. Much as I love the outdoors and walking, sports were never my forte. The only way I could stop on skates was by running into boards or a snowbank. And I was even worse on roller skates! My husband is a very good skater and still plays hockey three times a week. When our girls were small, I took them skating at a local rink every week and managed to stay on my feet while pushing a stroller in front of me. I was looking at my old battered skates a while ago and knew it was time to get rid of them for good as I do not see myself venturing out on ice for fun again.

Sandland Brother is with our next oldest brother in the picture below at a farm where we attended many winter parties. These two brothers played more football than hockey in their youth and were very athletic. We took a few swimming lessons, but did not participate in organized sports outside of school. These days children have more opportunities to take classes to improve their skills in a variety of sports.

We have several outdoor rinks in the city where we now live and I enjoy watching youngsters as they learn to balance on their blades. Do you ice skate or roller skate??


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14 comments:

  1. Nive pic -it looks like you were ice skating on the sidewalk? roller skates are okay with me, but I never really got the hang of it (maybe, because I was always cold quickly).

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  2. You have done a lot better than me.I did manage to stand on ice skates once,but decided that I would rather have a flat surface to walk on,like my track shoes.:)
    Blessings,Ruth

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  3. We didn't play hockey..but backyard or the local park ice skating rink was popular. I was never a great skater either..thanks for the memories.

    www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com

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  4. These pictures of your youth are fantastic.

    In my "teens" I did both ice and roller skating. I enjoy both very much. Now that I'm older I have a greater fear of falling. I'm much wiser to the damage I could do to myself. But I do enjoy watching ice skating on TV.

    That's great that hubby gets out 3 times of week to play hockey. Kudo's to him.

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  5. I can't skate too, I don't dare to let go.

    When I was in Canada, 75-77, the boy downstairs our apt made his own skating rink and he seemed to have great fun.

    Your dad was lucky, that pattern is very hard to knit.

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  6. I never really learned to be comfortable on wheels, let alone, blades! I admire people who can, but I am just not one of them!

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  7. Carol in Aurora7:50 am GMT-5

    I think the ice rink was in what is now called Machell park. The picture on the sidewalk is somewhere in the old part of town, but I can't quite figure out where!
    There is still an outdoor ice rink in the Town Park in the old part of town. I can see it from one of my windows, and it is wonderful to see families skating in the evening.

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  8. Hi Carol in Aurora...
    I haven't been to Aurora since my grandmother died in 1990 and likely would not recognize it. We lived at the corner of Centre St and Catherine Ave and the whole town was "older" then with a population of 5,000. Grandma Devins' house still stands at 21 Wellington St.

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  9. I wasn't a very good skater either as a kid, and, when I tried it as an adult, I was even worse. I don't think there are any pictures of me on skates.

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  10. Hi Ruth.....I fell about laughing when You asked...do you ice skate or roller skate? That is my idea of a nightmare. I have never got the hang of it.....I have tried so many times, and ended up with bruises and cuts.
    My father in law at the age of sixty five was still able to dance on roller skates....amazing.

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  11. Funny you should ask, Ruth! As a child I LOVED ice skating! I liked skating on a lake best, but I also remember that my local town flooded the basketball courts at a park so that we could skate there. Now I live in the South, but my town offers indoor skating during the month of December. I'm SO tempted to go give it a try now that I've lost some weight.

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  12. Carol in Aurora9:04 pm GMT-5

    I'll check out Grandma Devins' place at 21 Wellington.
    I'm assuming Devins Drive was named after that part of your family?
    That part of Catherine became Walton Street when it was extended into the new subdivision in the 70's. Your pics are great.

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  13. Yes Carol, Devins Dr was named after my grandfather, Dr. Clifford Devins. Aurora is 10x bigger now than it was when I lived there. I hardly recognize it.

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  14. Carol from Aurora6:21 pm GMT-5

    Grandma Devins' place is now a lawyer's office.

    If you go to the website of this local paper, December 15, 2009, edition on Page 7, you'll see what it looks like now.

    http://www.auroran.com/

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