NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Monica Stanley and Darryl Matthews stand with their rink Sunday while working to bring the ice surface back to 100 per cent. The couple has taken care of the Upland Drive Park Outdoor Rink since 2012 and has no plans of stopping.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Hatters were dealt real cold winter weather this weekend – meaning most were inside in the warmth.
For Darryl Matthews and Monica Stanley, the weather is exactly what they needed.
The common law couple has been volunteering their winter months at the Upland Drive Park Outdoor Rink for seven years, working day and night to give kids a place to play all season.
The pair spent Sunday working on the ice surface to repair damage done by warm weather.
“It was the fall of 2012 when we first contacted the city to see if we could start taking care of the rink,” said Matthews. “I don’t think it was one or the other of us pushing the other to do this, I think it was mutual.
“We both thought this would be a great way to give back.”
The couple moved into a place right across the street from the rink in 2011, when Stanley’s son was in his early teens. She says having a child helped her realize the need for a well taken care of rink in the neighbourhood.
“We do this for the kids,” she said. “Watching them skate and play in the morning is a lot of fun for us and it’s very rewarding.
“We also get to watch the future Connor McDavids play at the rink.”
Over the course of a winter, the couple has weeks where it is out multiple times every day to care for the ice. Other weeks Matthews and Stanley just have to shovel the ice in the morning.
“You can never tell with Mother Nature,” said Matthews. “There’s winters where it feels like we’re out here shovelling every day – it just doesn’t stop snowing.
“We try and get out every night, or every few nights, to flood the rink. This rink has some challenges with it, but we do the best we can every year.”
Matthews has been driving trucks for the past few years after working in the oil industry. Stanley is a former firefighter who now works as a clinical sleep assistant. Her time as a firefighter means Matthews is usually on shovel duty.
“Someone has to do it,” he said. “That someone is usually me. She loves flooding with the hose, so I don’t mind shovelling.
“We take turns on who does what, but we just care that it gets done and the ice is good for the kids.”
The couple has no plans on putting the shovels away and calling it quits on the rink.
“It can be hard work and it’s always cold work, but it’s worth it,” said Matthews. “Grabbing a coffee in the morning and watching the kids play on the rink makes it all worth it for us.”
“We don’t plan on stopping until we’re not physically able to do this anymore,” said Stanley.
