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By: Jim Fitzpatrick |
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Email: jim@nunica.com |
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Local Farmer in Polkton Township writes for the Coopersville Observer. |
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Along Brandy Creek By Jim Fitzpatrick
The Coopersville Observer Dec 12, 2005- - No. 63 |
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The young boys played their game down in the woods, mostly on the weekends. Sometimes they would get together after school and have a go at it until the cold and darkness brought their fun to an end. If by chance a full moon came over the frozen horizon, they would stay at it even longer. Often they used an old crunched up tin can; or, a block of wood cut from just the right size oak or ash limb. One year they had a real hockey puck. It came in it's own small labeled cardboard box, right out of a mail order catalog. They kept it stashed in a hallow tree there by the skating pond along Jewel Creek.
There would be a blazing fire in the snow to warm themselves by, take a break. If one of the Dads happen to show up; they could count on a hot drink, something to eat along with it. That was the best part, if they could get your mind off from the hockey game and all the commotion out on the ice. There were winters when a lot of time was spent clearing the heavy snows from the pond. However; once a little of that slick thick blue surface was exposed, the boys went to work with their shovels in a hurry. They couldn't wait to feel the runners of their skates gliding across the ice.
The pond is still there, feels much smaller that it did back then! A dead tree lays across one end. Cat tails have grown up from the bottom, stick up through winter's ice here and there. The boys have grown up to be Dads. One of them, some winters at least, takes his young son and daughter down to skate. A fire burns in the same spot on the bank. Out on the ice it is not quite the same. |
