The talk of ice fishing reminded me of the winter I worked through in northern Minnesota. With 10,000 lakes, you might well imagine that ice fishing was common during the winters there.

Some of the ice fishing houses/huts were quite substantial, with heating and cooking provisions and even bunks for sleeping in a few. They were dragged from the shore by pickup trucks when the ice became solid enough and normally stayed through the winter. With the coming of spring, they were pulled back to shore, but there were a few that tried to extend the season a little too far. You could see them floating, usually kitty-cornered, in the lake as the ice gave way.

Ice skating and hockey were also naturally very popular. Almost every town of any size had an arena for the local hockey teams. They were normally unheated and left open at night to freeze the rink. Infrared heaters made the stands reasonably comfortable with just a sweater or light coat during the games and the restrooms and concession stand were heated.

I remember sitting in a fellow worker's home one winter evening looking at the lake nearby. A young boy, maybe about eight years old, came down to the lake with a hockey stick and a broom slung over his shoulder. By the light of a nearby outdoor luminaire, he proceeded to sweep snow off an area of ice, Then he laid down the broom, picked up the hockey stick, pulled a puck out of his pocket, and tossed it down on the ice. He skated around for a while, working the puck on his stick, then picked up everything and headed home. I thought to myself that he really had a love for the game.

Big Al

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Big_Al