Pete,
AAH -- I remember those days, We could not wait to get the skates on and hit the ice. Usually a hocky game broke out (the only rule was "there was no rules"). I do miss the ice skating here in the south, but not the cold.
There was a third pond called "MoonBeam" that was used by a lot of us in the late fifties. Also off the West Road, it is to the northwest of Fletchers and backs up on the power lines. About a quarter mile or less past Fletchers was a small road along a fence line we used to get back there. It was quite a hike to get back, but the ice was good and because it was hard to get to not many ventured there. This made it a great place speed skating and rough necking, as it was a long and narrow pond. It is still visible on virtual Earth satellite.
Google Maps showing Fletchers and Moon Beam, both back in the cedar woods off West Road.
We played hockey on all three ponds, but you are right about Fletchers, as that was more family oriented and rough housing didn't go over big there. We had a lot of barnfires with marshmellows and hotdogs. It probably would be safe to say that most of the people from town learned to skate there at a young age.
Thanks for your blog,
Mike (}:-)
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Jim McAnney, in a January 17, 2009 comment to the "Ice Skating at Fletchers and Steam Shovel" Blog entry (partially reprinted below) , also mentioned Moon Beam.
We also skated at Moonbeam, which was just a little further down West road, but not nearly as much as Fletcher's or Steamshovel. I also remember watching ice skaters on TV going round and round in circles at a traditional rink and thinking how boring that must be. Jim McAnney
I never skated at Moon Beam. I guess that once you skated at Fletchers, everything else was down hill.
Pete S
PS- Here's another ice skating photo that I got from Phyllis Briggs. It was labeled "Ice skating on Duck Pond in 1967." I'm not sure where Duck Pond is and can't identify the kids in the photo. Perhaps, Phyllis can enlighten us. Looks like they are playing one of those "rough neck" games that Mike Allen was talking about. It looks alot like "Crack the Whip" that we played when I was a kid.
Ice skating on Duck Pond in 1967. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Sharp Briggs.)