Back yard opportunity …

Lemont family builds ice hockey rink

LEMONT — Hockey players and figure skaters alike know how difficult it can be to find available ice time to practice their sports. This was especially true for several months over the past year, as Pegula Ice Arena closed temporarily to the public due to the pandemic.

With three boys who play hockey, Misty and Bill Dickson know firsthand just how scarce ice time is in the State College area. So a few years ago, when their eldest son was a junior playing on the State College High School hockey team, they constructed their very own ice rink in the back yard of their Lemont home on Rainlo Street.

“It was just something for the boys to practice on, to give them a little extra ice time,” Misty Dickson said.

The rink has grown bigger over the past four winters, and the Dicksons have made it available to the teammates of their two youngest sons (ages 7 and 10) and other members of the State College Youth Ice Hockey Association to use for informal practices.

At 100-feet by 55-feet, the rink is about two-thirds the size of a regulation ice rink, and is easily visible from East Branch Road. Dickson said her husband constructed it using plywood, two-by-fours and silo wrap normally used by farmers to wrap hay bales. It is filled with hose water, and from there, it is dependent upon Mother Nature to freeze it. The setup includes benches for hockey players to change, carpeting to protect their skate blades, a fire pit for parents to gather to stay warm and lights for night time skating.

“It’s a nice thing for the kids on the weekends. A lot of these kids have never skated on an outdoor rink before,” Dickson said. “They just think it’s the greatest thing.”

Maintaining the rink is not easy, especially in Pennsylvania’s ever-changing weather conditions.

During a recent big snowfall, Dickson said her husband went out to shovel the rink every two hours overnight. He has fashioned his own makeshift “Zamboni” using a beach towel and pipes, which he uses to smooth the bumps out of the ice.

“Every night, he’s out there resurfacing the ice just so the kids can use it the next day,” Dickson said. “It’s a lot of work. He spends so many hours on it.”

The weather cooperated this year to allow for many skating sessions for most of January and February, but that has not always been the case, Dickson said.

“Last year, we really only got to use it one night. But the kids would get up before school and go out on the ice at 6 a.m. before they had to catch the bus,” she said.

With a warm-up in the forecast, it appears that this year’s season is winding down. The Dicksons will disassemble the rink for the spring, summer, and fall. But, come next winter, Dickson says, “Honestly, I think my husband wants to go even bigger. I think this is a dream come true for him.”