Skating now at Sweetland
Published 9:55 pm Friday, November 17, 2017
In the last few days, we have written a few articles on Myrtice Adcock and the opening of Sweetland on Ice. Adock, 76, was the first person to tough the new ice rink in her skates Friday afternoon at the ribbon cutting for Sweetland on Ice.
Adcock was originally from Florida and moved to LaGrange to teach physical education at LaGrange High School. She learned to ice skate in Florida, but bought a pair of skates after a trip to Wisconsin in 1965 with some of her students.
When LaGrange froze over in January of 1970, Adcock skated over some frozen puddles at the top of Boyd Park before deciding to try the fountain in downtown. She called Mayor Gardner Newman first to make sure she wouldn’t get arrested.
Adcock’s photo of her skating made the front page of the LaGrange Daily News much like it did today. When LaGrange froze in January 2010, she took her second opportunity to go skating in the fountain again.
Adcock’s free spirit shows when she went skating on a frozen fountain in the first place. The fact that she even did it again 40 years later is even more awesome because even though LaGrange has changed over the decades, the vibrance of the town for letting her skate and her wanting to skate shows.
When Adcock took to the ice Friday, she first had to test how to go about a rink she had never been in, but she got the hang of it by the time she finished. Adcock later commented that she would come back that evening to continue.
No matter how much LaGrange has changed the people and the city will still try different things to have fun. With the new ice rink opening to bring more activities the community can look forward to in the winter, there’s something the city is always doing to let people enjoy themselves.
Now, everyone can ice skate in LaGrange, albeit a larger rink without worrying about getting arrested.