Excerpt from "Cass Park Celebrates 50 Years"
Article and photos by Caroline Grass, Ithaca College
Community members of all ages attended the 50th birthday party for Cass Park on November 5, 2022, and skated on the newly enclosed rink with no fear of condensation dripping or melting ice --- which were just two problems that used to impact the rink every year.
Cass Park has a rink, pool, 32 athletic fields, two playgrounds, four tennis courts and trails for the community to use. The park, rink and pool are programs run by the Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB) which is a department of the City of Ithaca that serves 7,500 youth annually. The IYB Recreation Department runs a variety of programs year-round including sports and music lessons, summer camps and creative arts and theater classes.
The Ice Rink was built in 1972 and was covered, but not fully enclosed. The Friends of the Ithaca Youth Bureau started an "Enclose Cass Park Campaign" in 2016 to help improve ice conditions and allow for a longer skating season.
Liz Klohmann, director of the IYB, spoke during a ceremony at the event and talked about the memories Cass Park holds for all who have skated there.
"Today, celebrating 50 years and the newly enclosed rink, we've come a long way since 1972," Klohmann said.
Klohmann talked about stories from past employees who recounted snowy days where skating could feel like skiing as inches of snow accumulated on the rink or how there was always a possibility of falling in puddles on the ice when warmer weather came.
"[Now], what we don't have is condensation dripping on the ice, we don't have fog," Klohmann said. "We don't have Dixie Dup sized mountains of ice that Jim and his crew are by hand chipping down to get the ice ready."
Community members of all ages attended the 50th birthday party for Cass Park on November 5, 2022, and skated on the newly enclosed rink with no fear of condensation dripping or melting ice --- which were just two problems that used to impact the rink every year.
Cass Park has a rink, pool, 32 athletic fields, two playgrounds, four tennis courts and trails for the community to use. The park, rink and pool are programs run by the Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB) which is a department of the City of Ithaca that serves 7,500 youth annually. The IYB Recreation Department runs a variety of programs year-round including sports and music lessons, summer camps and creative arts and theater classes.
The Ice Rink was built in 1972 and was covered, but not fully enclosed. The Friends of the Ithaca Youth Bureau started an "Enclose Cass Park Campaign" in 2016 to help improve ice conditions and allow for a longer skating season.
Liz Klohmann, director of the IYB, spoke during a ceremony at the event and talked about the memories Cass Park holds for all who have skated there.
"Today, celebrating 50 years and the newly enclosed rink, we've come a long way since 1972," Klohmann said.
Klohmann talked about stories from past employees who recounted snowy days where skating could feel like skiing as inches of snow accumulated on the rink or how there was always a possibility of falling in puddles on the ice when warmer weather came.
"[Now], what we don't have is condensation dripping on the ice, we don't have fog," Klohmann said. "We don't have Dixie Dup sized mountains of ice that Jim and his crew are by hand chipping down to get the ice ready."
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