Freezing temperatures signal start of hockey, skating

Sustained below-freezing temperatures mean one thing in Delta Junction: it’s time to make ice. Last week, the City of Delta Junction began hauling water to the Liewer-Olmstead indoor rink and the outdoor rink, signaling the start of another season of hockey and ice skating.

Ice skating has a long history in the area. Even Fort Greely once had its own skating rink, although it has long since been dismantled. Hockey has also maintained a presence in Delta Junction for decades, but the sport’s popularity grew significantly with the arrival of schoolteacher Ron Liewer.

In an earlier interview, Liewer recalled the early days of hockey in the community.

“The school had a small rink out back that was an old tennis court,” he said. “We actually played a Delta team while I was at Dot Lake. Mike Warner was the coach. I remember telling Ron Milligan, a teacher, Delta needed to put in a bonafide hockey rink.”

That vision became reality in 1979, when the community built its first regulation hockey rink through a “buy a board” fundraising effort. A second rink was later constructed behind the school.

Liewer credited Greg Gehart and his sons, Michael and Marty, with helping establish the rink.

“They put together all those dasher boards,” Liewer said.

Golden Valley later installed mercury-vapor lights at the rink, but lighting the ice was a challenge in the early days.

“I can still remember watching Hawley Zachgo shimmy up those poles to replace the lights,” Liewer recalled. “Before that, people would leave their cars running and use their headlights to light up the rink.”

All of this took place before a Zamboni ever arrived in Delta Junction. Maintaining the ice required plenty of manual labor, including clearing the surface and applying hot water with mops.

“Mike Coats, who was one of our first refs, worked as a school janitor at the time, and he would go out and hot mop all that ice before practice,” Liewer said. “I would stay after practice and hot mop once again.”

In 1982, the school district officially sanctioned hockey as a high school sport under Superintendent Glenn Chowning and the school board. Youth, adult, and high school hockey programs, along with the figure skating club, continued using the outdoor rink behind the elementary school, near the area where the biomass building now stands.

As participation grew, so did the need for an indoor facility. Lou Heinbockel, a City Council member and avid skater, helped push for funding to build what would become the Liewer-Olmstead Rink. The first indoor high school hockey game was played in 1993.

Liewer also persuaded Chowning and then-School Board President Richard “Dick” Anderson to purchase a Zamboni, eliminating the need for the labor-intensive hot-mopping routine.

The community’s skating facilities continued to expand in the years that followed. During Fort Greely’s downsizing, federal impact funds became available to support local projects. By 2007, discussions were underway about building an outdoor rink that could serve as an ice-skating and hockey venue in winter and a basketball court in summer.

Construction began in 2009, with Skating Association members working alongside city employees. Chris Morley volunteered to install the basketball equipment.

Improvements continued over the years. During a 2017 City Council meeting, Jacob White reported that construction of the Skate Shack was well underway, with plenty of volunteers on-site — at times, more volunteers than there was work to be done.

Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of generations of local skaters, hockey players, and volunteers, skating continues to thrive in Delta Junction.

“Unfortunately, most of the bush teams from earlier days, such as Tok and Kenny Lake, no longer have an active hockey program,” said Delta Skating Association member BJ Sloan. “But thanks to this community and all the volunteers, the program continues on in Delta Junction.”

Sloan said the youth program averages around 100 players, while participation on adult teams varies from year to year. The community’s enthusiasm for skating is evident even late at night, when it is not unusual to drive past the outdoor rink and find the lights on and skaters still enjoying the ice.

For now, the City’s fire department will continue hauling water until both rinks are ready for the season.

“Hopefully by next week,” Sloan said with a grin.

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