Remember the old wooden boards,& the outdoor rinks where on any given night the winter wind would start to blow & when you looked up at that lonely light bulb swinging over center ice,with blowing snow all around it, and you were having a ball,skating around dodging pucks that the older kids were aiming at your head.......hahahahah Freezing the whole time most likely ,but would never admit it,then you walked home over the snowbanks wearing your skates of course because that served two purposes,1: no one could steal your boots while you skated & 2: you didn't waste anytime at all getting on to the ice ...sometimes if it had snowed you would gladly joing with a few others & pick up a shovel (the plow kind) and skate around clearing the ice surface,doing your best imitation of a zamboni......just so you could get out there and play.
Enjoy the old film of some of Montreal's old rinks........cheers ! - LesF
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
1 comment:
Not that many kids on the rinks today with TV, ipads etc.
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lesf wrote on Feb 18
shgverdun said
Not that many kids on the rinks today
Your right Guy, when we were kids we could put two teams together very quickly just by yelling down the lane to other kids & in moments we'd have enough to play whatever game we wanted to,in whatever season,......Someone always had an extra stick (usually a broken one,but hey it worked) or if it were summer or spring or fall we had baseballs , footballs,..etc etc .....& in no time we had a game going, As far as winter hockey games once on the ice everyone melted together to form teams,& it didn't matter if we were french or english,catholic or protestant,.....everyone knew what it took to make a game......Now after the games,.well that was a differnet story........lol
Cheers ! HF&RV - Les
we didn't need cell phones ,cause word of mouth was quicker.......
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keithinbeeton3 wrote on Feb 26
This video really hit home with me. I fondly remember belonging to the Norman Dawes Memorial league. I almost forgot about the broom ball part and it was great to watch. Skating at Brown Blvd (Richard Rink) I recall two rinks, one for skating and one for hockey. Used to ask girls to skate around the rink. I recall having to put your right arm around her waist and the left holding her hand in front (or something like that) and waltzing around the rink. I yearn for those days of my youth, sheltered in the warmth and love of my parents, and the memories,.....but life goes on.
HF&RV
Keith Harrison
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lesf wrote on Feb 26
keithinbeeton3 said
I yearn for those days of my youth, sheltered in the warmth and love of my parents, and the memories
A simpler time indeed Keith,.and as you say .life goes on.
I guess that's why old memory prompts make us feel good,by allowing us to briefly escape today's everyday life .
That video is pretty good, I remember getting hit in the side of the face ,with a frozen pebble skin broomball,while trying to block a shot........Ouch !! hahaha
VCHS had a rink right in the schoolyard,where hockey,broomball etc were played,
I got a kick out of the lights hanging over the rink in that video,I can still visualize quite easily the cold wind blowing & howling & the lights illuminating some blowing snow,while we skated around probably freezing,but having a ball anyway.
Cheers ! HF&RV - Les
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