- Matt Hasbany has inspired a tradition of outdoor rinks in his family.
- Steven McDowell and Rachel Hasbany have carried on the tradition of building a pond turned ice hockey rink in the winter.
- Watch the video above to see how this family enjoys the wintertime outdoors.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Matt Hasbany's childhood winters meant being outdoors.
“Outdoor rinks in Lansing there were 11 outdoor rinks back in the 50s and 60s,” said Hasbany.
He says those were public rinks, and he decided to bring that tradition to his own home.
"It's a way of life, we've had a rink since 1982 we used to flood them every year in my backyard." Said Hasbany.
He's 72 now, and still out here playing the game he loves.
He passed on the tradition of having a home rink to his daughter Rachel and son-in-law Steven McDowell, here at their Dimondale home in 2018.
“It means a lot to me, I grew up like I said doing it, and to have my kids doing it with their friends like I did It’s a great deal.” Said Rachel Hasbany.
it's a pond, turned ice rink.
And this cold weather has brought new life to the rink that they didn't have last year.
“We’ve been out here a handful of times already, last year I think we were on the ice out here once.” Said Steven McDowell.
And this bitter cold not stopping the McDowells or Hasbany's because just as they use their feet to skate. They used their hands to build a warming shelter as part of the rink.
"And that's probably the only way we able to be out here and do this, with these temperatures, so the wood stove is great, and whoever is here just puts a starter log on, gets a fire going and lace up." Said McDowell.
And lacing up my hockey skates wasn't just for this story.
I've played hockey for more than a decade and being invited back to this rink is an offer I'm going to take.
But on this snow day, I met three generations of friends and family out on the Ice.
"It's definitely fun and it gives us something to do instead of sitting inside." Said Kaden Wear, a family friend.
The youngest generation told me where they would be if this tradition had not been carried on.
“Yeah, I’d probably be scrolling on TikTok.” Said Kyra McDowell.
“Yep doing nothing inside.” Said Leah Parks.
And Matt Hasbany says getting people out of the house is what it’s all about.
“It just brings back– we’ll you see it–it brings back people gets the kids outdoors gets us all feeling like we’re 20 years old again.” Said Matt Hasbany.
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