In the olden days of the late forties there were no Zambonis. The tribe of which I was a member, the rink rats, were proud to be noticed as we skated up and down the ice with our ice scrapers, caroming against one another, pushing our snow load to the big door at the end of the Kindersley arena. We cleared the ice of snow between the hockey periods and after the game. The biggest rat shoveled it out the door. We were allowed to watch all the hockey games free. The Kindersley Klippers were a great intmediate B team. We were all proud to be identified with them.
I lived on third avenue east, half a short block from the rink, and like all small town rinks it was available for most of the time. Rink rats did a lot of other go-fer jobs as well. The entire rink management was of a volunteer nature. It seems now that we practically lived in the rink in the winter. Kindersley had PeeWee, Bantam,Midget, and Juvenile teams so the rink was busy. There was frequently shinny when the rink was occupied, usually on the icy street on 3rdAve east near the rink. I don't remember any Junior teams of ours at that time. If we had anyone of that age that was good they probably went to Moose Jaw.
Hockey was as natural for us as skiing for an Austrian or swimming for an Aussie. There was little money in those days, even for the players that made it big. It was love of the game . Player like the Bently's and Geordie Howe, or the Hucul's would have made more money staying on the farm. What was it that drove us? The pure love of the game and the sure knowledge that it was our game and still is in small town Canada. It had everything to do with participation and dreams. We played it in our sleep.
I lived on third avenue east, half a short block from the rink, and like all small town rinks it was available for most of the time. Rink rats did a lot of other go-fer jobs as well. The entire rink management was of a volunteer nature. It seems now that we practically lived in the rink in the winter. Kindersley had PeeWee, Bantam,Midget, and Juvenile teams so the rink was busy. There was frequently shinny when the rink was occupied, usually on the icy street on 3rdAve east near the rink. I don't remember any Junior teams of ours at that time. If we had anyone of that age that was good they probably went to Moose Jaw.
Hockey was as natural for us as skiing for an Austrian or swimming for an Aussie. There was little money in those days, even for the players that made it big. It was love of the game . Player like the Bently's and Geordie Howe, or the Hucul's would have made more money staying on the farm. What was it that drove us? The pure love of the game and the sure knowledge that it was our game and still is in small town Canada. It had everything to do with participation and dreams. We played it in our sleep.
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