By John Chenier
If you happen to see a man wearing a black toque standing at the end of a hose in Bingham Park on a cold winter night, odds are that man will be Dave Bowen. For more years than he likes to count, Dave has been an integral part of the team that brings the Bingham Park ice rink to life every year. Sometimes he has just been one of the small crew of people ready to help out. Other years, like now, he has been what the city calls “the rink operator” on behalf of the Lowertown Community Association (LCA).
As many people know, the city pays the LCA every year to operate the Bingham rink. Dave wouldn’t like to be centered out, but over the last dozen years, much of the money going into the LCA coffers is due to his hard work. The money earned from the rink allows the LCA to support the community in many ways, such as contributing to Lowertown’s Winterfest held at Jules Morin Park every year on Family Day (Monday February 17 this year) and providing the funds needed to get The Echo up and running.
Dave and his wife Angela (Angie) Rickman moved to their house on Bolton Street “32 wonderful years” ago. They initially rented the house from Angela’s mother and step-father,who were away on a posting with the foreign service. When her parents eventually decided to sell the house, Dave and Angie concluded that buying would be easier than moving.
Dave started helping with the rink in 2006, recruited by a next-door neighbor who was helping at the rink. By that time, he and Angie had two sons, Brendan and Julian, who were beginning to use the rink regularly. Two years later, he had become the person in charge. After a couple of years as the rink operator he went back to being just a member of the crew.
In 2017, the community came calling and once again Dave agreed to take over the rink operator’s role. What does this job entail? The operator is responsible for enlisting (and sometimes cajoling) volunteers from the community to help build, maintain and clear the ice surface; recruiting people with police checks and first aid qualifications to supervise the rink for the 20-30 hours per week required by the City; and filling any gaps that need to be filled.
Speaking from experience, this is a major chore at the best of times! With the way the weather has behaved over the past three years, it is the kind of chore that leads to headaches. But Dave doesn’t complain. Yes, it is a lot of work, but he says it is gratifying to see young families out using either the main rink or the smaller “puddle.”
According to Dave, “Shoveling is the hard work. Flooding on a cold, dark night is a Zen thing. Passersby stop to chat, to ask me questions or sometimes to thank me for my efforts.”
The most frustrating part is the young men who won’t help. “They will put on their skates and skate around you, or stand at the side waiting for you to finish. In my day, you would show up and grab a shovel.”
His son oldest son, Brendan, was a regular helper. When he came out with his friends for a game of shinny, they would never leave the ice without scraping it clear, and, if conditions permitted, flooding it as well.
His fondest memory over the years was something that happened just after Christmas last year. As usual, Dave had left the shovels along the boards in case anyone had the inclination to shovel. When he came to the rink he found a bunch of teenagers shoveling. It was a hockey team from New Jersey here for a tournament and staying at a nearby hotel. They had not been on an outdoor rink before. They asked if they could use the rink and if they were allowed to play hockey to which Dave replied, “You cleaned it, you use it.”
Dave was happy to see them back on the rink the following day. Like many kids, the concept of an outdoor rink with no fees and no time limits was a novelty. No doubt the memory of their Bingham experience will linger long after thoughts of how they fared in the tournament.
Why does he do it? “To be involved. To give back to the community. Other people did the work so that my kids could skate.”
The interview had to be cut short because Dave was off to talk to a group of teenagers about how to fill out a grant proposal. He had been asked by Julia Sneyd, Paul Dewar’s widow, to meet with the group so they could prepare grant applications to access programs for youth. It is a topic with which he is very familiar, as he spent many years in his job at NSERC informing academics on proper procedures for grant applications. After the interview, Dave sent me information on the fund-raiser being held at Brigid’s Well on March 1for his wife Angie, a former LCA president, who has been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease).