Tom Schmidt reminded me of a series of trips I made to the Summerland arena to play hockey. I believe the time was the winter of 1968 or ‘ 69.
I would load my 1957 Chev 4 door Belair sedan with eager, youthful hockey players, all boys from Oliver. We would drive to Summerland and rent the rink for a couple of hours, late at night. Besides being the driver, I would referee the game. Someone had to drop the puck. I could skate well enough, but puck handling was out of the question.
On the last trip, we managed to squeeze 12 boys and their gear into my car. With all their sticks, pads and skates, I had to tie the trunk down to keep it closed. Since I was the 13th body, we put 8 people in the back seat and 5 in the front. The game was great fun because we had a full compliment of players on both sides! I cannot honestly say how we all made it to Summerland and back without an incident.
Several days went by and I found myself talking with Auntie Kay about the trip. I don’t remember her being upset about the skating adventure. She got on the phone and called everyone she knew with the plan in mind to build a new arena in Oliver. It wasn’t long before plans were being drawn up and ground was broken for the structure.
By that time, I had moved onto another adventure. When returning to Oliver for a visit, I was surprised to see a new arena. I thought, Auntie Kay, you are a charmer!