Whitby Free Press, Wecfresday, January 10 1996, Page 7 Naturally difficuit Given the weather lately, yeu would think that making a natural-ice, outdoor rink would be simple: just turn on the water and let nature do the rest. But nature does not have to deal with bureaucracies. First, the site. Nature has this easy. She lets ýwater run dewnhill mn pools, and waits until cold weather freezes it solid. Our neighbourhood group had te deal with a school board, a municipality and a PTA executive. And in bureaucracies, the lowest point ain't necessarily the best spot for a skating rink. Originally, the municipality had advertised for 'volunteers te build and maintain an outdoor rink. The Town would supply materials, install Lhem, and volunteers would flood and maintain the rinik. Our local school adjoined park land. Seemed perfect. Weil, not quite. The Town surveyed the site and concluded that the park was toc low te make a rink, with insulficient drainage - and no water sup)ply. The best site, their experts concluded, wouid be uphill a bit, by -the school - close te water and light. The schoel principal agreed te allowi access te the water, and sehool property for flooding, but, -ahem, we would need apprcval frein the school board. And the superintendent cf schocls responded by faxing a copy of a newsclipping about a kid in Windsor who tripped over. a bare spot in an indocr arena and caused a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. In short, we could establish the rink if we could prove the volunteers were insured, that the rink was policed, that the world be a perfect and safe place. Before we were able ta work out-the final agreement, other politicians took over. The rink, *Our rink, was located in a village 10 miles away. Recause of geographical balance, we were teld. Yup. That was a year ago. This year, we pursued the saine course. This time, all the agreements were in place and signed by ail the parties involvfed - barely before Christnas. Just before New Year's the site was cleared, and Jan. 2 the retaining freine was i nstalled. Ail ready te flood. Well, not quite. First, we had te gather tegether ail the dozen and a half fathers who had agreed tc volunteer for fiooding. Then te dig out of a garage the 200 feet cf hose that one mnember had managed te have donated te our cause. And then te spend one fll evening attempting te hook the hose te the eutdoor faucet at the school. With no luck. None of the school's three outdoor taps worked. The school's water supply had frozen tight inside the boiler rcem. That settled, we then rescrted te actuaily flocding the rink: using the indoor utility plunibing, and tracking a bit of ice, mud and water across the cu:;tedian's nice, dlean, shiny for school opening floors. (She was wonderfully patient.) By Saturday we had enough ioe laid dewn te realize that the world is not fiat. Heck, ne, it goes mainly downhill. .To counter the camber, we added 70 feet of six-by-six pressure-treated.retainer along twe sides of the rink, the better te hold everything level when eventually we had the perfect solid base. A few heurs'of fiooding were added, and by Menday Il YETERDI HOCEY GAM ON RINK NORTH 0F ONTARIO LADIES COLLEGE,, C. 1924 This outdoor rink was Iocated where the new gymnasium le being constructed for, Trafalgar Castie Sehool. The old gyninasiurn, built ini 191113 is the long, low building at the left of this picture. Hockey was one of many winter sports at this sehool in addition te tobogganing and skating. Whitby Archives, photo 10 YZARS AGO from the Wednesday, January 8, 1986 edition ofthe WKITBY FREE PRESS " Thirty niembers of the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital medical stafftwill walk out on Jan. 10 te protest lack of à contract negotiating mechanism. " Matthew Andrews was Whitby's first baby born in 1986, at 5:54 a. m. Jan. 1. " Four Whitby businesses were charged by police for opening on Boxing Day.- *A meeting te start a Lions Club in Brooklin will be held on Jan. 15. 35 YASAGO from the Thursday, January 5, 1961 edition of the warTBY WEEKLY NEWS *Petitions from three parts of town have asked the Town Council te ensure that Church Bus Lines will continue te serve Whitby. a Oscar Moore, the new chairman of the Public Utilities Commission bas announced an expansion of the Brock Street office and pur-chase of a works yard on Mary Street East, 0 Town tax collecter Forbes McEwen reports $66,000 in unpaid taxes need te be paid for 1960. a Keéith anid Martilyn MacDonald ame parents of Whitby's first New Year's baby, of 1961, born at 1:24 p.m. Jan. 2. 100 YEARS AGO from the Fridayjanuary 10, 1896 edition of the wWHiTBY CHRONICLE The.temperature in Whitby on Jan. 6 was 20 degrees below zero, Farenheit., It 18 reported that thCre furnaces at the Model Sehool are insuffilcient to heat the building. John E. Schiller bas thoroughly renovated the Royal Hotel. Charles F. Stewart 18 selling ladies' corsets for 50 cents and 75 cents each. r-.