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Glen Ellyn, IL —
Each winter in the dead of the night — when the temperature drops to intolerable levels of cold and even the gentlest breeze can numb exposed skin — employees from the Glen Ellyn Park District can be found at Newton Park, spraying water in the air.
“You can’t have a heavy flow of water; you have to have fine mist,” said Dave Scarmardo, superintendent of parks for the district.
The art of making an ice rink is no simple task.
Once the temperature falls between 13 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit, teams of two employees take turns working three, eight-hour shifts to turn the tennis courts and a patch of land at Newton Park into frozen playgrounds.
Several years ago, the Park District had a hydrant installed to make the work easier.
Workers hook a fire hose to the hydrant and spray the water up into the air. Scarmardo said that as the water goes up, the cold air chills the fine mist and quickens the freezing process. One person holds the hose up, while the other sprays the water back and forth. Once a complete layer has been put down, the workers then have to wait about 10 to 15 minutes for the water to freeze before they go back and start again. Most of the work is done at night, when freezing conditions are optimal.
Before laying ice on the tennis courts, sheets of plywood are laid down to protect the courts’ surface.
Laying ice on the grass rink takes longer because workers have to make sure the ground is frozen enough to begin. Otherwise, the water sinks into the ground.
Once finished, the rinks must be regularly maintained. After a snowstorm, Park District staff must regularly clear the snow that accumulates on the ice. New ice layers must be added periodically.
Mother Nature takes care of the ice at Lake Ellyn, but the Park District has to clear snow from the lake’s surface. To do so, they bring a 4,000-pound track machine, which is a vehicle that moves on rolling tracks rather than wheels — with a snow blower on the front of it.
“It shoots the snow about 30 feet,” Scarmardo said. The district also has a tracker with a broom attached to it. “It takes a good day, day and a half, to clear all the snow off.”
Snow must be removed from the surface as soon as possible, otherwise it can form a soupy mess, making both cleanup and skating difficult.
Each winter in the dead of the night — when the temperature drops to intolerable levels of cold and even the gentlest breeze can numb exposed skin — employees from the Glen Ellyn Park District can be found at Newton Park, spraying water in the air.
“You can’t have a heavy flow of water; you have to have fine mist,” said Dave Scarmardo, superintendent of parks for the district.
The art of making an ice rink is no simple task.
Once the temperature falls between 13 and 15 degrees Fahrenheit, teams of two employees take turns working three, eight-hour shifts to turn the tennis courts and a patch of land at Newton Park into frozen playgrounds.
Several years ago, the Park District had a hydrant installed to make the work easier.
Workers hook a fire hose to the hydrant and spray the water up into the air. Scarmardo said that as the water goes up, the cold air chills the fine mist and quickens the freezing process. One person holds the hose up, while the other sprays the water back and forth. Once a complete layer has been put down, the workers then have to wait about 10 to 15 minutes for the water to freeze before they go back and start again. Most of the work is done at night, when freezing conditions are optimal.
Before laying ice on the tennis courts, sheets of plywood are laid down to protect the courts’ surface.
Laying ice on the grass rink takes longer because workers have to make sure the ground is frozen enough to begin. Otherwise, the water sinks into the ground.
Once finished, the rinks must be regularly maintained. After a snowstorm, Park District staff must regularly clear the snow that accumulates on the ice. New ice layers must be added periodically.
Mother Nature takes care of the ice at Lake Ellyn, but the Park District has to clear snow from the lake’s surface. To do so, they bring a 4,000-pound track machine, which is a vehicle that moves on rolling tracks rather than wheels — with a snow blower on the front of it.
“It shoots the snow about 30 feet,” Scarmardo said. The district also has a tracker with a broom attached to it. “It takes a good day, day and a half, to clear all the snow off.”
Snow must be removed from the surface as soon as possible, otherwise it can form a soupy mess, making both cleanup and skating difficult.
The challenge is to wait for the ice to freeze 8 inches thick. For safety reasons, the district won’t open the lake to skaters until the ice is thick enough. That means that employees have to wait, too.
Kathleen Talenco, marketing and communications supervisor at the Park District, said ice skaters can be found using the rinks throughout the week and on weekends.
“Ice skating has always been a tremendously popular event in Glen Ellyn, going back to many years when people would hold regular speed-skating events on Lake Ellyn,” she said. “It’s something not every community has. It’s picturesque, it’s a perfect outdoor winter activity.”
Making that activity possible takes a lot of work, Scarmardo said, and the results are fleeting. Last year, after spending days making rinks, the weather warmed and the ice melted away. Workers had to start all over again.
But they don’t mind. Scarmardo said those in charge of building the rinks love the process. There have been times when neighbors brought them cookies while they worked.
“When you’re spraying that water up in the air, a lot of those guys look like an ice cube. That’s the kind of dedication my guys have,” Scarmardo said. “They sign up for it. They like doing it, and they want to do it.”
