Every neighbourhood has its characters – those people who quietly do things that make a place feel like a community. In our corner of Bennington Heights, that person is Scott Reynolds. Around here, he has another name too: the Iceman.
For the past four winters, Scott has taken it upon himself to build and maintain a neighbourhood outdoor skating rink. Over time it has grown into something much bigger – a gathering place for kids, families and neighbours during Toronto’s long winter months (only recently ended).
Running a neighbourhood rink is not as simple as flooding some ice and hoping for the best. Each season Scott obtains the permit from the City, coordinates with the local tennis club so the lights can stay on after dark and works with Bennington Heights Elementary School so students can also use the rink in a more formalized way.
A real commitment
Then there is the real work: flooding, shovelling, smoothing and maintaining the ice through Toronto’s unpredictable winter. Scott also helps coordinate neighbours who come out to lend a hand.
After heavy snowfalls, neighbours often wake up to find the rink already cleared. On warmer days Scott is out adjusting the ice. Other evenings he is flooding it again under the lights…which makes skating feel even more magical.
Much of the equipment comes from Scott himself. Anyone who knows Scott, or his wife, has likely heard about his ever-growing list of rink equipment purchases. Each year the collection grows. This year’s acquisition? A blowtorch.
The commitment is real. Maintaining a rink means watching the weather closely and staying one step ahead of it. Scott has even been known to rearrange his personal weekend plans to make sure the rink is in good shape for the neighbourhood.
But the real magic of the rink is what happens on top of the ice.
After school, kids show up with hockey sticks and skates slung over their shoulders. Younger children wobble through their first attempts at skating. I know mine did. Neighbours stop to chat along the edge of the rink while others circle the ice under the glow of the lights.
Over the years it has quietly become a small neighbourhood tradition – one which neighbours look forward to each winter.
Scott, true to form, never makes much of it.
What makes this story even more meaningful to me is the personal angle. I immigrated to Canada years ago and had never skated in my life. But watching the rink come alive each winter and seeing kids race across the ice and neighbours gather there eventually convinced me to buy my very first pair of skates.
That is the thing about great neighbours. They do not set out to consciously build traditions or community institutions. They simply show up, year after year, doing the work.
Sometimes that is all it takes to build a community. And sometimes, if you are very lucky, your neighbourhood gets an Iceman.
This article was guest contributed by Shipra Vyas.