A little over two weeks ago, Town Field was the site of the city of Boston’s “Winter Express.” There had been several of these celebrations throughout winter in neighborhoods where a community came together in person for the first time in a long time to celebrate.
What made Town Field’s event different from other celebrations was that the planning committee worked with the city to obtain a synthetic ice surface to recreate the ice-skating area that used to occupy the lower field in the park many years ago.
On that day, close to 300 people braved the very chilly but sunny day to come out and participate in the event. Maybe it was because people had been relegated to their homes for so long due to the pandemic and the winter weather, but maybe it was also the lure of trying out some new activity in a park near their homes –that being ice skating.
But ice skating at Town Field is not new. From what I have been told by long time Dorchester residents, in the 1950s, `60s and `70s, the Fire Department would come by with a pumping truck and flood low lying areas in community parks. The neighbors would wait a few days to make sure the ice was solid and then the skating (and pickup hockey games)began!
People who remember those days shared their memories of running home after school, grabbing their skates, and heading to the park; those who grew up around the area remember becoming parents and bringing their kids there to help them create their own memories.
So why did this low-tech, low-cost, high-impact activity stop? It couldn’t be because the Frog Pond downtown assumed the role of free skate for the entire city of Boston; most of the kids in my neighborhood in Codman Square and Fields Corner wouldn’t think of going there unless they were brought along on a field trip.
The ice rinks that have been constructed in the area are not easy to get to without transportation (I know – I’m a hockey mom – I’ve driven to most of them). Climate change could possibly be a contributor to the decline of this neighborhood asset, but neighborhoods in and around Boston still manage to have small rinks in backyards. So why not now, in our neighborhood parks, in the winter when these outdoor spaces sit fallow?
While the pandemic has deeply impacted our communities in a negative way, it has also forced us to look at creative ways to provide safe, healthy activities for our communities. What is not to love about ice-skating? It can be intergenerational, address health disparities in our underserved neighborhoods, offer outdoor activities during the winter months, introduce youth to something they rarely have the opportunity to experience, and most important –allow us to connect with our neighbors after such a long period of isolation.
My hope was that by having this small square of synthetic ice and to see the joy among all the young faces who skated out onto it – some for the first time – we would plant the seed of possibility to revisit this lost opportunity in our neighborhoods on a bigger scale. In the future, I hope that ice skating along the lines of Frog Pond will come to Town Field.
It’s not a new idea here, as we learned from our long-time residents, and it’s certainly something that would enliven the area and bring commerce in during the winter months. Let’s see if we can bring this tradition back to Town Field.
Candice Gartley is the executive director of All Dorchester Sports League.
