by William Sauers
The opening of the outdoor skating rink on the Greece Town Campus should bring back memories of the “good old days” to many of us who have lived in the area for a half century or more. Back then there were many opportunities for outdoor ice skating, including public schools, community parking lots and natural ponds.
Residents of Greece were frequent visitors, until 1991, to the Maplewood Park pond. In fact, the building near the pond that is now City offices was specifically built with ice skating in mind. The Ontario Beach Park parking lot was another favorite spot for us, as were the nearby ponds along the lake.
A January 4, 1948 Democrat & Chronicle article talked about the thousands that crowded area skating rinks. In the 1940s and 50s, Barnard and Britton schools, and I am sure other schools, were also sites of public ice skating and they were true community endeavors. The DPW would roll down the snow and bring in an old voting booth as a shelter. The local volunteer fire department would flood the field. No plastic liner or safety bumpers back then. When the snow needed to be cleared off the ice, plenty of shovels were available for anyone who wanted to help clear the snow.
In 1948, a group of volunteers from the Greece Youth Foundation cleared four acres of land on Britton Road near Forgham Road for a rink with water supplied from Fleming Creek. It was on private property, but was used by anyone who came by.
By the 1960s, the Town converted the lighted tennis courts at Carter Park into an ice rink in the winter and, in 1975, built a shelter large enough to provide a place to change skates.We all had ice skates back then, whether you were a good skater or not. New skates were always a great Christmas gift. If not a Christmas gift, there was always Cook’s Hardware ,which did a thriving business in used and new skates along with sharpening skates.
As indoor rinks opened and times changed, outdoor ice skating seemed to disappear around the early 1990s, albeit for a few artificially cooled rinks around the County.
The Greece Community Ice Rink is for Greece residents only and gives skaters of all skill levels plenty of room to enjoy. Skates are available and residents must check in at the Welcome Shed and present identification with proof of address to receive an admission tag. In addition, there is a heated shelter on site to provide a comfortable place to change in and out of skates. The use of this facility is at your own risk. By using this ice rink, participants are acknowledging that there are inherent risks involved in the activity of ice skating and are voluntarily assuming those risks.
In October of 2017, hometown hockey hero Brian Gionta and his wife, Harvest, donated ice skates to the Town of Greece for residents to use on the outdoor rink, free of charge. His generous donation included 50 pairs of brand-new ice skates ranging in sizes from youth to adult, as well as one dozen helmets for optional use. Requirements to borrow skates include a valid NYS driver’s license, which will be retained while using the skates. Skates cannot be removed from the rink site and must be returned in the same condition in which they were loaned. Skate aids are also available at the rink. In addition to the warming shed, there are restrooms on site.
Historical photos and ads provided by Greece Historical Society.
Greece Community Ice Rink photos by Karen Fien
