BETHEL — A grassroots, or in this case an ice-based, community project has grown this year. The ice skating rink by the Ethel Bisbee School on Philbrook Place is four times it’s previous size and has shifted to the space behind the school.
“This year’s rink is 20 feet wider and 20 feet longer with walls and nets on the ends. Last year the rink was 40- x 80-feet this year it is 60- x 100-feet,” said Recreation Board Director Mary Scanlon.
“Let’s measure it out,” said Rachael Guay, longtime Recreation Department board member, to the other nine volunteers assembled in the frigid conditions two days after Christmas to construct the rink. “If we go too wide right now we’ll be toast as soon as we put that liner down. Once you put that liner down you don’t want to move it too much.” Volunteers pulled and pushed the sides, stopping to measure in both directions.
“So many kids learned how to skate last year, and at the end of the season watching all those kids do laps around the smaller rink, the rec board was determined to make it a little bigger and give it a little more elbow room,” said Scanlon.
Last winter, after a snowstorm or before an event, the volunteers arrived to clear the ice with snow blowers, a fleet of shovels and a ‘rink-boni,’ a smaller version of a Zamboni. The homemade rink-boni is two PVC pipes with a heavy duty towel that hooks to a garden hose. Jerry Gingras, a maple sugarer, came with his pick-up truck and two 75-gallon barrels of water, “the maple sugar pump would feed the hose that feed the rink-boni, (and a volunteer would pull it around to resurface the ice)”, said Scanlon.
The volunteer clearing and resurfacing team always tried to get to the rink ahead of time when they heard there would be a birthday party or other event on the ice, said Scanlon. Besides the many birthdays, The West Parish Congregational Church and Norway Savings Bank both had skating parties last season.
The idea for a rink had been in the works since January of 2021, but once the team of volunteers got through all the insurance hurdles, it was too late to start on the idea before the end of winter. When the committee got together in August of 2021, the next discussion was the location. The Bethel Common which long ago had a rink, was pitched, but it was the Ethel Bisbee location that won since a hydrant is nearby. It has parking and the Crescent Park School is close enough for children to walk there after school.
The rink is open at sunrise and is closed by eight or nine each night to be respectful to neighbors, said Scanlon. She points out that on a brilliant blue-sky day, the Mahoosuc Range can be seen surrounding the rink.
The men at Congo Craftsmen on Paradise Road are credited for building the nearby benches that the Eddy School students painted.
In future seasons, the committee would like to have free skate rentals. For now, people can buy skates at nearby Community Sports in Philbrook Place or at True North.
The rink sponsors are: Norway Savings Bank, Bethel Rotary Club, The River Fund, Jared Rice and family, Phil Sheridan and family, Bethel Water District, and Bethel Rotary.
The rink was constructed in honor of Jared Rice, member of a longtime public works family, and Phil Sheridan, one of the founding members of the Bethel Recreation Committee.
It was 5 p.m. when Guay and Scanlon finally finished and went home. Water filled the arena and now it was time for Mother Nature to take over. The team hopes to be able have skaters by early January.
Volunteer, Jim Chandler admitted that he likes lake skating, but said, “It’s nice to have reliable ice!”
