The Ivor MacDonald Memorial Arena in Thorburn isn’t ready to retire any time soon as it celebrates its golden anniversary. 

The facility has been a staple in the hockey community and normally closes its doors in April once the season ends. But in recent years, the rink has been used in the summer, first for makeshift courts for the growing sport of pickleball and as the new home for the Pictou County Snipers lacrosse club.

“We’ve been an organization for over 10 years,” said Snipers president Craig Fukes. “And normally we would use the rink in Trenton and we had also used the Pictou rink before, and this summer, out of the blue, Trenton just told us that they’re not having us any more, so we didn’t have any place to go to.

“We had talks with the local MLA, Pat Dunn, and even Tim Houston got involved, but eventually we were put in touch with Thorburn and were able to work out a deal with them.”

The Snipers organization had about 140 players registered this season, according to Fukes, with age groups ranging from under-9 to under-17, plus the Pictou County Generals junior B team. 

“It’s been a very easy transition,” said Fukes. “There’s a few things we have to work on, which is understandable since this all came together pretty quickly, but any time there’s been any sort of problem, it’s been fixed and people have been really eager and willing to help out.”

That sense of camaraderie has been a major reason the facility has been able to last for as long as it has, according to Randy Palmer, the director for the District 13 Recreation and Planning Commission, which owns the arena.

“The facility was built because people like myself, we had no place to go to play hockey or things like that, so a bunch of parents got together and put in a lot of time, effort and money to build the rink,” said Palmer, who has been director since 1987 and also serves as a councillor for the Municipality of Pictou County. “It’s nice to see that it’s lasted for 50 years and is still going. It continues to be a strong and important part of the community in Pictou East.”

The facility has held up well through the years, with several major improvements made recently.

“Last year we put a new ice plant in because Freon had become so expensive,” said Palmer. “It had gone from $1.50 to $2.50 a pound to between $40 and $50, so we replaced it with a more environmentally friendly ice plant, and we’re replacing our de-humidifier, which cost $6,000 to run for the summer. 

“We bought a new scoreclock and a Zamboni, and we burn wood to heat dressing rooms and the ice melting area for the Zamboni, and we use a local supplier for that, so we still put a lot of time and effort into the rink on a daily basis.” 

The arena also serves as a major hub for the East Pictou Fair, which began in 1972 as a major fundraiser for the rink and ran for 30 years before being resurrected in 2022. A 50th anniversary celebration for the arena was held in November with a free skate, demonstrations by the East Pictou Silver Blades figure skaters, a vendor craft sale and live music among the events.

“The fair brings a lot of people out from the community, so it’s nice to see the big crowds and everyone supporting it,” said Palmer. “It just goes to show there’s a lot of people here who want to do something for the community and make it better.”