A nice ice skating rink

HURON — The 2026 Olympics officially started on Friday. But the winter games, on a local level, started several days beforehand in Huron with children playing hockey, taking part in speed skating and enjoying other frigid, fun, festive events. Beginning in January and in the weeks since, Adam Machoukas, who lives on Cove Circle in Huron, and others residing within the Beachwood Cove neighborhood, shoveled off enough space along the waterfront to create an ice skating rink, measuring 145 feet by 45 feet. Known as West Pond, it's not as deep as other bodies of water, allowing Machoukas and others to create an ice skating rink there pretty much every year for nearly two decades running now. One neighbor even made a Zamboni out of PVC piping to put water down and keep this surface nice and smooth. "I've accumulated over 25 pairs of skates, varying in sizes," Machoukas said. "All the neighborhood kids come over, and we get them fitted with skates." This year, up to 30 kids at once came down on the ice. They ventured there during the day, when snow forced a school closure, and even at night when their daily activities ended. Machoukas and others treat these days as celebrations for the community. "We've gone through about 20 gallons of hot chocolate. We even roasted hot dogs over the fire and on the ice," he said. "It's just nice to see all the kids outside, enjoying winter. It's good for them to be outside and not stuck in the house on electronics."