It seemed like a brilliant plan. As the rare cold snap refused to budge and temperatures continued to dip down into the single digits for days in a row, one savvy Baltimore-area mom leapt into action. She sent a mass email to the parents of a dozen or so adolescent boys who live within a few miles of defunct reservoir Lake Roland, in Robert E. Lee Park, inviting them for an impromptu, friendly hockey game on the ice Saturday morning.
Enthusiasm for the idea ran high, especially as parents contemplated the alternative: their sons lounging languidly in front of a TV or some other electronic device for hours on end, kept indoors by the cold, snowy day outside. Because Baltimore doesn't often experience consistent, sub-freezing temperatures, not many of the kids were readily equipped with ice skates and hockey sticks. But they borrowed, swapped and made do with whatever equipment they could get their hands on, showing up at the appointed time on Saturday ready to hit the (very solid) ice.
The boys scampered through a short path in the woods that led directly to Lake Roland, a few parents, siblings and dogs in tow. At the edge of the frozen lake, the boys quickly laced their skates, grabbed hockey sticks and shovels and began to clear the ice to make way for the rare spontaneous game of outdoor hockey. No coaches, no referees, no rules. Just old-fashioned fun.
The sight was fit for a Norman Rockwell painting. The snow was falling, the boys were skating and slipping and practicing their shots, the moms were chatting on the lake's edge, dogs nipping at their heels, and a peaceful ambience pervaded over all. Then, two park rangers appeared. Suddenly, the spell was broken.
The ambitious mom who had arranged the hockey date stepped forward, attempting to reach an agreement with the rangers whereby they would turn the other way and let the hockey game continue. But it was not to be.
After a lengthy standoff with the stern-looking rangers who threatened to call the police, the skaters grudgingly cleared the ice. Dogs were leashed, skates were replaced with shoes, and everyone trudged up the hill, away from the frozen lake, to figure out plan B.
Beginning in earnest last year, local park rangers started to enforce a ban on outdoor skating at Baltimore County parks — a complete turnaround from their stance decades ago. Then, not only did local parks allow skating, they also maintained staff to measure ice thickness and monitor skaters, according to Barry Williams, Baltimore County's parks director.
It's good to know that, today, parks such as Robert E. Lee are staffed with rangers. Until recent renovations, minimal if any ranger presence existed there. But instead of employing rangers to deter visitors from enjoying the park's amenities, it would be great if they could be trained the way park employees were years ago: to know when ice is thick enough to skate on safely and to oversee, rather than shoo away, skaters looking for a little old-fashioned fun.
Mr. Williams' thoughts on the recent enforcement? "Our society has become a lot more litigious, and that really is the reason," he was quoted as saying in a Feb. 4 article about the topic in The Baltimore Sun.
Indeed, times have changed. Years ago, ice skaters and hockey players regularly took to frozen ponds and lakes around town, weather permitting. In 1865, the Board of Public Park Commission authorized an expansion of the lake at Patterson Park to accommodate skating, according to the Friends of Patterson Park website. Other popular outdoor skating spots in Baltimore included the boat pond at Druid Hill Park, the Gwynn's Falls in Dickeyville and the Homeland Lakes on Springlake Way. Undeterred, we headed to this last spot after being tossed from Lake Roland.
For the second time that day, shovels came out to clear the ice, boys laced up their skates, milk crates-turned-hockey goals were put in place, and the fun continued. A few hours later, exhausted and hungry, the skaters once again cleared the ice. But this time, it was on their terms.
Elizabeth Heubeck is a freelance writer based in Towson. Her email is eheubeck@gmail.com.