It’s the quintessential Canadian scene – a freshly shovelled patch of ice on a frozen lake, big enough for a couple of hockey nets and a bunch of skaters.
Homemade rinks have been turning up along the shores of our local lakes during the last few weeks and have been getting lots of use, especially with the delayed opening of indoor facilities.
There is one such rink that was inspired by a beautiful story from the past and brought to life by local resident, Ted Foxley.
Foxley’s rink is located on Lake Couchiching’s Old Brewery Bay, which is fitting, because the story that inspired it was ‘Angus and the Skating Rink,’ from a book by Jamie Lamb called Christmas in Mariposa – Sketches of Canada’s Legendary Little Town. Lamb’s book is a selection of sketches or short stories about Lamb’s hometown, the real-life Mariposa.
Foxley also thinks of “Mariposa” as his hometown, since he spent much of his life on Lake Couchiching, enjoying summers at a family cottage on the lake and then living there full-time until he moved to the Villages of Leacock Point last summer.
The house he purchased happened to belong to Reed Ellis, who built and maintained an ice rink in Old Brewery Bay, just steps from his home. Ellis initiated the project last year as a way to keep busy during the winter months, a time when he would have typically headed south (which didn’t happen last year due to the pandemic).
Ellis joked at the time that agreeing to maintain the winter ice rink would be one of the conditions of the sale.
“I moved here from what I call my forever home and had lost my dog – my constant companion – around the same time, so it was a tough move. I tried my best to embrace being here, but felt without purpose and a bit lonely,” explained Foxley.
Soon after, an old best friend of Foxley’s, Bill Carter, dropped by with a housewarming gift – the Christmas in Mariposa book. He told Foxley that if he didn’t read anything else, he must read the first story.
The first story is about Angus, who lived near Bay Street and the railroad tracks (now the Lightfoot Trail) in a tiny house that, at one time, stored the jigger used by railroad maintenance crews.
Angus’s house became known for the many butterflies that were attracted by the plentiful milkweed plants that used to grow in the area. Angus did many odd jobs throughout the year, but in the winter, he built and maintained a skating rink on the lake. As Lamb describes it in his story, “Angus was the builder and keeper of the best little skating rink you ever saw.”
“It’s a very touching story,” said Foxley. “We eventually learn that Angus had a sweetheart for whom he built the rink, and whose memory keeps Angus working at the rink every day, every winter, for years. When Angus eventually dies, as the story is told, all of the monarch butterflies left his little home, never to return.”
Shortly after Foxley read the story, he was down by the water thinking about his new home and wondering how he would go about making a skating rink. It was what happened when he got up to return home that made him decide to try.
“As I turned from the lake to walk back, there must have been about 50 or so monarch butterflies that began to swarm around me. I thought, this has to be serendipity. Then and there, I decided I would make the rink. It would give me the purpose I was looking for.”
Since retiring from a career as a teacher with Georgian College, as well as the Toronto and Simcoe County school boards, Foxley has always managed to find a project to give him the purpose he seeks.
And it has invariably had something to do with his passion for an active, healthy lifestyle. He embarked on, and completed, a solo sailing trip from Georgian Bay to Key West in Florida and then went on to other adventures.
Whether instructing spin (indoor cycling) classes and coordinating masters swimming at the Gravenhurst YMCA, or completing personal challenges such as triathlons and long-distance swims, Foxley has managed to stay active, while often encouraging others.
“I’ve learned that you’ve got to have a purpose,” said Foxley. “Without a purpose or commitment to somebody or something or to a community, without that, you’re just floating through life.”
“For a while my purpose was to become a really good triathlete – that never happened, but I gave it a good shot. Then it was to do a marathon swim. I got that one done," he said.
"Besides swimming across Lake Couchiching a few times, I completed a 10 km swim in Bermuda and then a 5km swim in Grenada. I was all set to keep going, but then COVID came along and put an end to that.”
So this winter, as the weather got colder and ice started to form, Foxley got out his snowblower and got to work on his rink.
“It just got bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Foxley. “The toughest part is the flooding. I use an auger and a pump and then try to smooth out the water with shovels. Keeping the snow off and scraping the ice is an ongoing job, but people are helping out. Some are neighbours and others are those who just show up to skate, with kids or grandkids. They skate for a little bit, then grab a shovel.”
The rink is about 100’ x 150’ and Foxley says he puts an average of three to five hours of work into it every day.
“The best part is seeing people use the rink,” said Foxley. “Everyone’s been really positive, not just neighbours; even people I don’t know say that this is a really great thing. I’ve seen people drive over to skate or shoot pucks.
"Even one fellow from Barrie showed up with two exchange students from Spain and Germany. It was their first time on skates and they were having a wonderful time.”
Word about the rink is getting out, as well as the story behind it. Apparently, some regular users have started calling it Angus’s rink.
“I love that!” said Foxley. “Who knows, maybe a famous hockey player will show up some day, just like in the story.” (Editor’s note: You’ll have to read the story to learn about this exciting event in Lamb’s Angus and the Skating Rink.)
