The residents of Brewery Bay are pretty lucky to have a practically pristine skating rink on Lake Couchiching.
For nearly five years, a group of seniors have tasked themselves with creating and maintaining the rink, which is located by the Leacock Museum.
The initiative started when Reed Ellis, a resident of the community at the time, had some time on his hands. Even though Ellis moved away about four years ago, new homeowner Ted Foxley was quick to take over and recruit a few volunteers.
Derek Mackesy, 88, is one of them. He and his wife live right across from the rink and museum; their backyard is Lake Couchiching. “Sometimes you wonder why you’re out there,” he jokingly admits. “Like this morning when we had over two feet of snow. But why do I get out there? Just a chance to get outside,” he says. “You look up that lake and you see beautiful countryside. Off to the right is the iconic Leacock Boathouse. And in the distance, you see a multitude of ice fishermen and maybe occasional snowmobiles going around.”
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Along with Ted and Derek, volunteers include David Cross, Ken Brawn, retired OPP motorcycle mechanic Gregg Patriquin, and John Degraaf. Gregg lives in Orillia and is the first one to show up and the last one to leave, says Derek; he describes John, meanwhile, as “sort of the driving force in this community.”
The amount of maintenance hours vary for the 15,000-square-foot rink—and are weather dependent—but the group is diligent. “Like this week, we were out probably every day,” says Derek. “And we wanted to make sure it was in good shape for the weekend. If it’s clear and there’s no snow, and there’s not too many people using it, we will let it go for a day or so. If it needs attention, then we call out the troops.”
The rink was built in late November, but some warm weather set things back. Ever since a cold snap before Christmas, it’s been going well, says Derek. “If we can get four months out of it, then we’re happy.”
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The rink-makers have their maintenance process down pat. Derek says first they shovel/scrape the surface, then flood the ice with water (courtesy of the lake itself), using a submersible sump pump with a hose attached. “We can get really a nice flood probably in 12 to 15 minutes.”
The rink draws visitors from near and far. “A lot of people come down. They’ll bring their relatives or their grandkids,” says Derek. “We’ve had people from all over Simcoe County. We had a couple from North Carolina, and we even had some visitors from South Korea who rented some skates and had a wonderful adventure.”
What better way to spend some time outdoors? “I think it’s a nice part of the community at this time of year. And I think, What’s any more Canadian than spending time on a rink with the breeze in your face and the crunch of the skates on the ice?” says Derek. “That sort of says it all about us Canadians, and we take a little bit of pride in that.”
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