When he’s working from his home and hears the sounds of skaters at the Dotson Park rink across the street, Jed Falgren is further reminded of why he and his fellow West Mankatoans put in the long hours.
Falgren and a couple of his colleagues remember Norman Rockwell and his visual depictions of simple American life and the movie “Sandlot,” which included pick-up baseball games by kids in the neighborhood. The rink reminds them of these.
“None of those four guys have touched their phones in the last half hour,” Falgren said, pointing at the neighborhood boys who had been slapping the puck around the 80-by-40-foot rink on the Sunday afternoon before Christmas.
In a way, they all see the West Mankato neighborhood as a throwback of sorts. People know each other, every year they put on a Fourth of July parade for the kids and they come together each winter to continue a tradition begun by the Dotson family decades ago. The small parcel of land was set up as an impromptu park.
Today it’s operated all year by the City of Mankato, but comes alive through a unique relationship with the volunteers. When neighbors saw that the rink wasn’t getting enough attention because of its size and out-of-the-way location, they adopted its winter maintenance.
The city used to put up three side boards and would flood the rink, but general maintenance was spotty. The neighbors, under the watchful eye of Falgren, they say, found a temporary structure by a company with the appropriate name of NiceRink. The city bought it on condition the group do the rest.
Now in the fall, Falgren watches the weather, rallies the troops when the time’s right, and when the city delivers the rink pieces he coordinates the construction. They have learned it’s best to do it before the first frost.
“I think it’s part of it being a community,” neighbor Scott Peterson said about why he is involved. “I mean, the people that show up to put this thing together. When Jed sends out a text, there’s a dozen people over here.”
And it takes a dozen to handle the pieces and the liner that helps maintain a good ice surface. In the spring when the sun comes out, the white liner reflects the rays and prevents quick ice deterioration.
At first, they added water a layer at a time, risking having an overeager skater ruin their work. With the NiceRink, they must have at least four inches at all times, Falgren said. Because of the uneven surface and self-balancing of water, some places now may be as thick as eight or nine inches.
Falgren’s house has a larger than standard water system, and he has added a hot water system to his garage that helps with ice-making, he said. And when the street was redone in 2009 the city granted more assistance when it installed a hydrant and nearby water spout to aid in making ice.
The guys joked about finding a pint-sized Zamboni to help with resurfacing. Falgren keeps a single-stage snowblower just to clear the rink when needed. They have built a ramp for a two-stage snowblower and could do the same for a Zamboni, they said.
Falgren grew up playing basketball and still officiates games. Many times he will follow up a game with a midnight resurfacing to replace ice that has been shaved off. Often by dawn, the new surface is being broken in.
As it should be.
When Falgren was looking for a larger home for his growing family, his employer at the time, Dennis Dotson, came forward with an offer: Purchase the home of his mom, Mary, who was preparing to move full-time to Lake Washington. Help with the cleanout and, of course, adopt the rink.
The rink had been a part of neighborhood kids’ lives for decades by then, with Mary often providing hot chocolate for participants. Although he didn’t grow up here, that sense of community was sought by Falgren.
Peterson used to live on West Ninth Street and attended Roosevelt School. He now lives on West River Drive and called himself a “worker bee,” happy to join the guys who respond to Falgren’s call for assistance setting up, maintaining and then taking down the annual rink. His specialty is the overhead lights.
Another Oak Knoll resident, Tom Hallet, has been helping from the beginning, Falgren said.
“You can always count on him during resurfacing or just keeping a general eye on the rink to identify any issues that might be going on with the ice,” Falgren said of Hallet.
Neighbor Shawn Showcatelly visits often with his daughter, he said. Their time together at the rink is why he helps and what he will remember most about the time. And it helps re-establish a feeling that is often missing today.
He remembers growing up with the adults or the “cool uncle” who made sure they fully enjoyed their childhood.
“I just want those memories for her, and I know that these kids will have those same memories,” he said. “It’s not about me at this point.”
Adults don’t decide on ice time or settle disputes that might arise. The independence allows kids to gain organizational and conflict resolution skills they might not get in their otherwise highly scheduled world.
Generally, all goes well with no bench-clearing brawls like in the NHL, Showcatelly said.
“But some of them are brothers,” he added with a parental smile.