Cold snap brings skaters to the green

Pearson Davis and Ethan LaFontaine slap around the puck on the Lebanon Town Green on a frigid Saturday morning. Photos by Melanie Savage.

In the midst of a brutal cold snap, the Lebanon Town Green skating rink was ready for business. Just a large, slushy puddle the weekend before, the seasonal, man-made pond froze solid after days of temperatures reaching the single digits, and had transformed itself into a smooth expanse of inviting ice.

A dusting of snow the night before meant visitors to the rink the morning of Jan. 26 came armed with shovels and brooms. The rule of the rink is that if there’s snow, skaters are responsible for clearing it themselves.

Friends Jerry Mailhiot, Pearson Davis and Ethan LaFontaine had already cleared themselves a small hockey rink, and were cheerfully battling each other in their efforts to shoot a puck into a small net. The friends attended Lyman Memorial High School together, and try to reconnect whenever possible over a friendly game of hockey. “We knew the ice would be solid, finally,” said Mailhiot. “In the winter, we come out when it’s cold enough, get a game together if we can.” Though the rink was deserted when the trio arrived, mid-morning brought a number of families, and the friends found themselves pausing their game occasionally as young usurpers wandered into their arena.

Among the families taking advantage of the ice were Tracy and Bryan Sammarco and their sons, Calvin and Cameron. Three-year-old Calvin was on skates for the very first time. “He’s so excited,” said Tracy. Calvin, wearing a helmet for safety, sported double blades and carried a hockey stick that reached higher than his head. Cameron, also skating for the first time, was doing quite well on single-bladed skates.

After a while, Calvin headed over to take a seat on a small folding chair. Shy at first, the youngster finally admitted that he likes hockey because his dad plays. “Used to,” confirmed mom. “[Calvin] loves hockey.”

Every winter, a portion of the mile-long Lebanon Town Green is flooded to provide a rink for skating. The rink is free and open to the public. Because the water is only a few inches deep, the rink freezes very quickly when temperatures fall below freezing.