Back in early February, Cordery Electrical Contracting Inc. owner Richard Cordery opened up his backyard ice rink to the public. For free.
“I got an avalanche of phone calls and text messages right away" after the story was published in OrilliaMatters. "It was an overwhelming response."
Cordery says the 75-by-150-foot ice rink - which was lit, featured nets, an ice resurfacer and a skate shack with a fire - was used for at least a couple of hours every evening during the week. On the weekends, the rink was bustling 12 hours a day.
“People didn’t have anywhere else to go, the arenas were closed, outdoor rinks in public parks didn’t happen, and kids' hockey seasons were cancelled,” he said.
Cordery had all sorts of user groups booking time at his rink this winter including small families, old-timer hockey teams, and minor hockey teams who were using the ice for practices and scrimmages in full equipment.
Cordery says he spent most of his days over the last couple of months flooding and scraping the ice in between user groups, building fires outside for spectators, and building fires inside the skate shack to keep skaters warm.
“The weekends killed me because I would be out there from six or seven o’clock in the morning, and the last group would be leaving sometime around nine in the evening, so by Monday morning I was exhausted,” he said.
Although it was a lot of work, Cordery says it was all worth it to keep community members active this winter.
“I had a riot, there were kids here that were just smiles ear to ear,” he said.
“I got a kick out of it, I really enjoyed it.”
Aside from skating and shinny, the rink was home to more unique pursuits. Cordery says a local photographer used the rink to take post-wedding photos, some families used it to host their Family Day celebrations, and one family even used it for a celebration of life.
“We got together at Richard’s to have a game of shinny and skate together because we actually couldn’t gather indoors anywhere because of the COVID restrictions,” said Lisa Ligers, who booked the rink to gather with her family to celebrate the life of her grandmother.
“It gave us an opportunity to see each other as a family during a difficult time.”
Ligers and her two children were at the rink every night for a good part of two months. Her son plays for the North Central Predators, and her daughter plays for the Barrie Sharks.
“Hockey got shut down pretty early into the season, and they are used to being very active, so it was a big change for their social life and well-being as youth,” she explained.
“It was nice for them to meet up with a couple of friends, be outside, and enjoy some skating.”
Ligers says skating at Cordery’s rink was the highlight of her family's winter, and the best part was getting to know the man who opened up his backyard to the public out of the kindness of his heart.
“It was also a nice opportunity to get to know Richard and his pup Cubby. We developed a new friendship with him which was really great,” she said.
“His generosity is something we will not forget. Our family really felt the kindness of someone that we didn’t know before COVID started, and it made our winter that much brighter.”
While the rink is now closed for the season, Cordery says he will likely be opening up his rink to the public again next winter.
