The Emmaus Ice Rink

Well the waiting is over. Exactly one month to the day, the Borough has finally attempted to add that magic ingredient that makes the rink an ICE rink: water. Yes, thanks to not one, not two, but three Borough employees hard efforts, a hose was inserted into the rink from the local hydrant and water was flowing. Key word here: was. Within minutes, the hose was shut off. Could the old leaks have returned? Did the crew need a break from this soul-crushing work? Whatever the reason, the water is flowing once again.

Any day now...

Two able-bodied Borough guys showed up today and the water is once again flowing (and leaking) into (and out of) the rink. Just in time for the weekend! Sharpen those skates.

Well, that didn't quite go as planned. The water was hosed into the rink, but sadly it didn't stay where it was supposed to stay. Water being water, it found the hole in the tarp that the makes the rink a rink, and it almost entirely leaked out into the adjoining yards. This has created a lane of ice, but not a rink of ice which I believe was the goal of this pointless exercise. So now, there's no ice where it should be, and there's ice where it's not wanted. Bravo!

Out come two Borough guys, one with a leaf blower to remove the snow, and the other with the portable Zamboni machine to smooth out the surface. So the glaze of ice on the asphalt should be ready for skating any time now. At least if you fall through the ice you don't have far to go.

This morning, two Borough men showed up, set up the hose, and attempted to fill the leaking rink. When they realized that the water, despite a temperature of 6 F, was not freezing as fast as it was leaking out, they stopped. Now there are 5 Borough me, a little mini-CAT, two trucks, and a supervisor there. They have removed some of the hay bales (remember the rink is formed by stretching a vinyl tarp over hay bales), and then shoveling out the masses of broken ice that were clogging up the rink. They are setting up the hose again in what looks like an attempt to refill the now drained and sagging rink. These Borough guys are sure earning their money today, if for no other reason than to be out in such brutal cold. And while it's true there are most likely countless more worthwhile projects the Borough could waste your tax dollars performing, at least they are providing me with some much needed distraction and entertainment. Thanks Mayor Winnie!
Don't throw your skates away yet. However, if you really need a skating fix, maybe helping Beth Strickland shovel off her pond will get you there sooner. I have a feeling these guys will have the Emmaus Rink ready just in time for the thaw.

The work force has swelled to 4 trucks, a car, and the mini-CAT. There must be 10 guys working on this vital project. They are shoveling, sliding, and pointing. At this point, it is quite ambiguous on just what the goal is. Are they trying to remove or repair the Rink? Could they have picked a better day? Are the donuts really that bad today?
Question of the day: How many Borough employees does it take to make an ice rink? Figure each of these guys gotta be at least $10/hour. When the tab for the rink approaches the thousands of dollars, wouldn't be cheaper to just give anyone who wants to skate a taxi ride to the nearest REAL ice rink? Meanwhile, these guys look frozen to the ground they are standing on, and very little "work" is being accomplished.
Stay tuned.
Live from the Emmaus Ice Rink, back to you in the studio...

So what do you do when the already pint size rink springs a leak? Make it smaller, and that's what they've come with now. Will it hold water? Wait and see. At least now you can come over a shoot a game of hoops. Just don't fall into the rink.

True dedication is one of the strong points of the Emmaus Rinkmen. Today, with the temperature hovering around zero degrees, three brave Borough guys showed up to evaluate the Rink. Two trucks (left idling of course) were deployed with the men. They must have determined that the ice needed some grooming, because they broke out a weapon from the Rink Arsenal: a propane powered flame thrower. Looks sort of like a weed-wacker with a large ball of orange flame on the end of it. They used this Weapon of Ice Destruction to melt the lumps that resulted in water freezing at different levels in the Rink. Pretty tough assignment given the temperature. It's a two-man job, one guy holding the flame thrower and the other guy holding the propane tank (picture your backyard BBQ grill type tank). All this before the sun has come up over South Mountain. At least their trucks will be nice and warm when they finish this grueling task. Pass the marshmallows.

So now the surface seems primed, we've added another idling truck (total at 9 AM 3 idling trucks) and another 3 Rinkmen for a total of 5. They've unfurled the hose, connected it to the hydrant, and they seem ready to begin the topping o' the ice. The water is flowing into the now reshaped and shrunken rink. Hopefully it will freeze before leaking out. The crew as I finish up here has been reduced to one sorry soul whose job it is to be hose tender. Nice day for making ice.

Today's Rink-Force is made up of a couple of trucks, two Bobcats equipped with rotary snow blowers, and some Rinkmen sporting shovels. They've cleaned of the new snow, gotten out the propane flame thrower, and have removed the snow from the Rink sidelines and parking lot. They still haven't installed the fire pit or Porta-Poddy, but I'm sure any day now, and the sounds of happy kids skating will be filling the air. For now the beep-beep-beep on the Bobcat each time it goes into back-up mode will have to suffice.

[center]THE RINK IS OPEN

Well after great effort and no small expense, the rink is closed. They took the water out today, hauled away the hay bails and sand bags, and wrapped up the tarp. This year set a new record for the rink, with it being open for quite a few days. Sadly, most of the time the rink was open nobody was using it. This reporter is moving, so someone else will have to cover the rink if the Borough is stupid enough to erect it again next year. Hey, I said "erect." Heh heh heh....
Rink Reporter Roberto, signining off...

thank you for the years of insightful, practical coverage of the Emmaus Ice Rink. its good to know that the communitiy is willing to spend so much time and money on the passion of so few users.