Outdoor ice makers learn from experience

On a frigid Saturday evening, Kelsey Steinhoff, Markie Perrier, and Jori Doek enjoy the Handy Henry outdoor rink on Norfolk Street South, Simcoe. 

Chris Abbott

Editor

Henry Knelsen is not a professional ice maker.

But Knelsen, his Handy Henry Concrete staff in Simcoe, and friends, are getting there.

“Now that we’ve done it a few years, now it’s all about timing,” said Knelsen Saturday evening on their homemade temporary outdoor ice rink on property they lease across the street from Handy Henry Concrete on Norfolk Street South.

It opened mid-January for the 2026 winter season, and the community is more than welcome to use it.

“This year, whenever it was cold, it was so windy. It was flooded, then it took a while to freeze, so it was ‘wrinkly’ just because of the wind. So it was hard to get the ice smooth this year. You want to flood just before it gets super cold.”

The rink was re-flooded – and it’s been in great shape since.

Volunteers from the community have pitched in to help clear the surface of snow. And there’s been a lot of snow.

“There were a bunch of kids here, and we said, ‘You guys shovel it, we’ll flood it tonight.’ And that’s kind of what we did. Last year we had to do all the shoveling. This year people here have been shoveling it so it’s been a lot easier to maintain.”

There are a couple of cracks, he noted, but they are working on those.

“You learn as you go. Now I know you’ve got to use slush (to repair cracks). Make the slush/snow wet, rub it in. We’ve still got the homemade ‘Zamboni’ – actually one of my guys built it and it works pretty good. Now that we have a system down, it’s been pretty simple.”

The ‘use at your own risk’ rink is being used seven days a week, he said. Pucks and nets have been donated. They even have strings of lights for evening skating.

“If you go by here during the day, you’ll see people.”

Years from now, he hopes people will still remember it and say, “Hey we played on that Handy Henry rink!” Initially, it was a great way to give back to the community. Paying it forward, they said. Today, that goodwill has come back tenfold.

Living next door, Knelsen said, “It’s kind of cool when you look out the window during the day and see kids playing. It’s really encouraging to keep it going. Plus, it’s fun for us too.”

Now in their fourth year of ice-making, Knelsen remembers some struggles with their first rink in the winter of 2022-23 when they had brought in some fill, graded the gravel and packed it down. Using wooden concrete forming boards and greenhouse plastic they created the foundation.

Results were mixed, he said. It was a mild winter, particularly in January 2023, and it had to be rebuilt early in February for end-of-season skating. The greenhouse plastic had attracted heat… less than ideal for a skating rink. And the gravel had poked holes in it.

“The second year, we didn’t have it quite level, so we really had to flood the one end. But now, we have a system and it’s flat. We have a sand base – Morris Trucking and Excavating donated the sand. Now when we flood it, it’s got even thickness everywhere so it freezes evenly. 

“We also learned not to flood it too early because if it stays unfrozen, neighbourhood kids sometimes walk on it when it’s slush and it’s hard to fix that.

“So it’s been a learning experience, but it’s good. I’m just glad to be part of it.” Looking at long-range forecasts, Knelsen is optimistic.

“I think we’re going to have a regular winter. So this will most likely go into March. It seems like a normal year.”

Henry Knelsen is looking forward to a good winter of skating and hockey on the Handy Henry outdoor ice rink in Simcoe.