Skip to main content

100 Things To Do In Holland Before You Die: #45 - Strap On A Pair Of Ice Skates At Griff's Icehouse West

 I come from a family that's pretty big into hockey.  My dad, uncles, and cousins have been involved in the West Michigan hockey scene for over 50 years.  Hardly anything hockey related in West Michigan hasn't been touched by someone I'm related to.

Case in point:  Last time I played hockey was at a drop-in event at Griff's West (gah, that was right as I was starting this blog up in 2019).  As Ms. Bareman notes in 100 Things To Do In Holland Michigan, Griff's West has learn-to-skate programs, learn-to-play-hockey programs, several schools' hockey teams, and a plethora of public ice and skating times - including the aforementioned lunchtime drop-in hockey.  I arrived early, and was in the locker room getting dressed, when one guy walked in and didn't ask, but outright declared that he knew my uncle.

How did he arrive at this conclusion?  He saw my name on the sign-up sheet in the lobby, and he saw the normal crew of 10ish guys that played at noontime, and used the process of elimination to figure out that I was the one with my surname, that I was not my dad or cousins, so he logically ascertained that I was my uncle's nephew.  This guy and my uncle had played hockey in college during the 1970s, before going their own separate ways for a few years, becoming employed by the same company years down the line, and then playing hockey again together in the 90s and 00s.

This seemingly happenstance encounter isn't unique - the first time I was ever at Griff's Icehouse West (then known as The Edge), it was covering a Jenison High School hockey game for the school newspaper.  The opposing team's coach saw me, waved me over, and told me to tell my uncle hi next time I saw him.  I'd known this coach for a very long time, so he actually did know my first name and everything - in fact, the first time I played goalie on an ice hockey team was with this coach.

Speaking of uncles and coaching, Ms. Bareman mentions by name the West Michigan Ice Dogs - a team which a different uncle coached in their first season as a club.  And, in a weird bit of Dutch bingo, one of those kids lived in my dorm during freshman year in college...and also went on to start up the now defunct West Shore Board Sports.

There was a time when I owned a hockey puck from almost every rink I'd ever been to - exceptions being Big Bear Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Soo Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; and Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Michigan.  I'm sure I still own a puck from The Edge/Griff's West, although I couldn't tell you which puck it is anymore. Certain things get burned into your brain, ya know, and since I've never actually played in a league at Griff's West, there's no memory burn for which puck is which.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Merry Christmas from Tulip City!

I don't have a full article this week, but here's a little bit of trivia for you: While Holland is a predominantly Christian Reformed city, it was the early Methodists that sprung the Christmas spirit. While an 1867 Sunday School Christmas Program drew nearly 150 youngsters to Hope Church, it was several generations before the Reformed church allowed even Christmas trees into their sanctuaries, as Christmas trees were seen as Pagan symbols. Early Methodists adopted the 19th Century American spirit, and welcomed things like Christmas trees and even Santa Claus into their sanctuaries. I tried to determine exactly how long "several generations" were using Dr. Swierenga's book (and the sources he cites), but could not ascertain the exact time. It's almost certainly somewhere in the vicinity of 50 years (before the Christian Reformed Churches allowed 'pagan' Christmas symbols), which would put their allowing of such things into the early 20th century, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cedar Swamp Village

Holland has only been a settled city for a little over 170 years. But, it's got a dense, unique history. I took an interest in local history during my college years at Northern Michigan University, and was able to take that interest back home after graduation. Recently, I began researching for this blog, and hanging out at the library, poring through the Local History section. I found an old, forboding looking book, entitled Memorials Of The Grand River Valley, flipped open to a seemingly random page, and read the passage "The Indian village, near the southeastern limits of the city,w as also a prominent landing-place. The log-houses, built by the Indians, were of great service to the newly arrived immigrants; and, as it appears, there never has been any trouble between the Red man and the Dutchman." This piqued my interest, as I live near the southeastern limits of Holland. Was there an Indian village in my own neighborhood that history forgot? Memorials ad...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ghost Town in Hudsonville

When the term "ghost town" is brought up, one doesn't usually think of modern subdivisions and upper-middle class suburbs. The classic "ghost town" is usually applied to a town that was abandoned when a major industry dries up, leaving crumbling shells of buildings, maybe some artifacts, and nothing but memories.  You know the drill, overgrown storefronts, smashed windows, tumbleweeds, maybe a hobo or two. Briefly, there was an interurban rail system all around Western Michigan in the late 19 th and early 20 th century. I won't go into details, as the whole system is well-documented elsewhere, but the electric train systems allowed for the transportation of people all around the major metropolitan areas in West Michigan...Grand Rapids was a major hub, and they had lines going to Grandville, Jenison, and Hudsonville along Chicago Drive; south to Kalamazoo; and as it pertains to this story, to Holland and Saugatuck. The branch between Grand Rapids an...
Post a Comment
Read more