Eddie Hejka sits in his car to warm up after playing a laid back game of hockey on a large ice skating rink.  His relatives just walked back home, to the house he has resided in for 25 years, located within blocks of the skating rink. He watches from his car as his granddaughter, dressed cozily in purple attire, plays with the other children on the ice.

Flooding North Rosedale Park, on the Glastonbury side, has been a neighborhood tradition for the past 50 years. Legend has it that the fire hydrant faces inwards towards the park, unlike the other neighborhood hydrants, for this exact purpose. “When my kids were young, they would skate from morning to night,” Hejka explained. “They would ask to go skate around the block, we would check on them, and when they got home we would have hot chocolate.”

Neighbors rely on the weather, hoping that it hits single digits during the night so more water can be poured on the rink. However due to a few warmer winters, they were only able to keep the rink open for a couple of months in the past few years. Thankfully, the weather this week has been cold, but dry, the perfect combination to freeze the skating rink. Hejka states thankfully, “Now the little ones get to share the same memories.”  Grab your skates and come join us, warm clothes and a thermos of something hot is recommended.