BOYS OF WINTER
Rink-rat duo keep
Scugog on ice

Al Fulford, left, and John MacKey spend countless hours on Lake Scugog, in front of
Port Perry Marina, clearing, flooding and maintaining a large skating rink for
Scugog and area residents to enjoy free of charge.

In January of 2009 John Mackey and Al Fulford were named to the Mayor’s Honour Roll in recognition of the countless hours they have spent tending and caretaking the skating rinks in front of the Port Perry Marina.

Over the years many Port Perry residents, as well as people from neighbouring communities and tourists, have enjoyed skating and playing hockey on these rinks that, but for the grace of community service, would not exist.

Al Fulford graciously gives John Mackey all the credit for the rink’s existence and success. Al came on the scene about eleven years ago and he became involved in the rink’s maintenance about nine years ago.

Al and his wife Deb live above the marina store and run the Boardwalk Café, a charming little café at the waters edge that caters to boaters, snowmobilers, ice fisherman and everybody else who wanders through their door.

John Mackey was born in Port Perry and although raised in Oshawa, John spent every summer in Port as both his grandparents lived here.

At sixteen, John started working for Bill Kendry, owner of the Port Perry Marina. In July of 1984 he bought the marina and it was during the winter of ’84 that he created a small rink that has now grown into what you see today.

When asked what motivated him to tackle the work involved in creating and maintaining a skating rink John responded “I made the rink for purely selfish reasons. I wanted a place to play hockey with my buddies”.

Back in the winter of 84/85 the rink was much smaller – its size being determined by the amount of work involved. John cleared the area and flooded the space with a bilge pump that pulled water from the lake. The flooding, shovelling and general maintenance was a lot of work but John was happy to do it.

Hockey action on the Lake Scugog outdoor rinks.

The hockey/skating rink remained small until 1986 when John bought a plow which allowed him to clear more snow and faster. The flooding was still a slow process but the rink was proving to be more and more popular. Other people started using the rink, giving meaning to the saying, “If you build it, they will come”.

Al Fulford got involved with the rink he says, because of the café, his rapport with John and the fact that he had a tractor. Al’s tractor made clearing snow and plowing much easier.

John and Al spent between one and six hours a week looking after the rink. Excessive snowfalls of course added to the work load. By this time there was between 30 to 40 people skating and playing hockey on weekend days and holidays. The only time the rink was not busy was when the temperatures dipped into the -20 range.

Last year John was approached by the Durham Home Builders Association to prepare a Pond Hockey Tournament. The 2010 inaugural tournament consisted of twenty eight teams of six players and the event raised $10,000.00. Needless to say, John’s rink was greatly expanded for this event; five rinks were made to accommodate this first tournament.

This year’s tournament was even bigger. The five rinks were expanded to nine and thirty six teams of six players were involved. The 2011 Pond Hockey Tournament raised $15,000.00. The nine rinks have made the skating area on the lakefront much more accommodating for both skaters and hockey players. This winter it has not been uncommon to see close to eighty people on a Saturday or Sunday enjoying the rinks.

The rinks grew in size and so did the man hours needed to maintain the ice. John’s time to prepare the rinks for the Pond Hockey Tournament came in around 40 hours and that of course does not count all the days and weekends since winter began.

Although Al has not been involved lately, one wonders why they have given so much of their time. A great sense of community spirit, integrity and service is the answer. John believes the people in the community are grateful and he believes they recognize that the Port Perry Marina cares about its community.

He personally enjoys the work and the fundraising and intends to keep doing it. Al seems pleased that over the years the rink has brought so much pleasure to so many people. His lack of participation this year was due to the removal of the boat launch.

Al’s equipment can no longer access the lake and help John out. This leaves John to tend to the rinks himself, by accessing the lake from the public boat launch around the corner.
As long as it is possible and, bearing massive snowfalls that prevent access to the rinks, John Mackey will continue to maintain the marina ice rinks.

His sense of community goodwill has not changed and he looks forward to future fundraising and the satisfaction he receives from a grateful community.

By Marjorie Fleming
Focus on Scugog