Skating Memories: the farm on Boxing Day

A man and two children play ice hockey on a frozen pond with a barn in the distance
I spent most of my childhood Christmases at my grandparents' in North Bay. On Boxing Day, we'd go to my aunt and uncle's farm in Powassan, and there'd often be a family shinny game on the frozen pond.

These photos were taken in 1984. That's my sister in the grey snow pants, my uncle Steve on the left and my cousin James in the middle.

See how far away the barn is? The house is closer to the barn than the pond. Skating on Boxing Day meant taking a long walk first. It also meant trying to keep up with the hockey skills of our uncles and cousins.

The little guy in the second photo is my cousin Luke. Aunt Linda is there too.

I asked my dad why we don't have photos of Boxing Day skating from other years, and he said "probably because it was too bloody cold."

Too cold to take photos, not too cold for skating. Another memory I have of Boxing Day skating is trying not to cry as my feet thawed in the warm house afterward. Good times.

Two adults and three children skate and play hockey on a frozen pond

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