Twenty-five years ago, there we stood, the four of us, up in the stands at the Fleet Center in Boston: Mike McLaughlin, George Gamble, Tom Mayhew and I. We were broadcasting the Martha’s Vineyard High School hockey team’s thrilling 3-1 win over North Middlesex to capture the Massachusetts Division 3 state championship. 

Led by head coach Michael Jackson and the leadership of 100-point scorers Ryan Mundt and Andrew Phillips, the team that year in 2000 reached the pinnacle of success. This was the culmination of a long journey. Consider that for the longest time Martha’s Vineyard was an Island without an ice arena. And without ice you don’t have hockey.

For skaters, without hockey there is no joy.

It started with a dream in 1973, one conjured up by Don Lambert and Tom Taylor, for whom the words “couldn’t” and “don’t” did not exist.

Don grew up in Montreal. He skated as a kid and eventually played for the Braintree Hawks, a minor league team owned by the St. Louis Blues of the NHL. Hockey was in his DNA. Don was creative. Now married and living in Oak Bluffs, he began flooding the ground next to the Little League park in Oak Bluffs with water so he had a place to skate. 

Recently, I spoke to Don about those days.

“I needed a place to play hockey, so I bought some time at the Falmouth Arena,” he said. “I put an advertisement in the Gazette simply asking that anyone who wanted to play hockey to show up at a certain time at the boat.”

“The turnout was unbelievable,” he continued. “From day one we always had enough players. It became a regular affair.” 

But Don wanted more. He wanted an ice arena on the Island.

Location, location, location. Don, with the help of then state representative Terry McCarthy, approached the high school, which agreed to gift the necessary three acres for the project. The donation had to be approved by the Commonwealth, and it took a trip to Boston to get the signature of then Gov. Francis Sargent.

Now the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena Corporation owned a hole in ground across the street from the high school. Then Tom Taylor, another lifelong hockey player, came aboard. 

“I approached Mr. Farleigh Dickinson who not only made a significant contribution but agreed to match any other community donations,” Tom recalled. 

Thanks to Mr. Dickinson, Tom was able to secure funding for the arena. William Davis Taylor also donated to help create the high school hockey program.

Soon the hole in the ground started to fill up. There was ice. Then came the boards. The Island now had an outdoor rink. Then Don and Tom caught a lucky break. In 1981 they found a ready-to-assemble pitched roof. A number of local builders joined in, and the building was approaching completion but was running out of funds. 

“We needed money to complete the job,” Don said. “No one got paid. Everyone was a volunteer. The Gazette put an appeal envelope in every paper. We received envelopes stuffed with ones and fives. Every dollar counted.”  

Soon he was overwhelmed with the support. “There was Red Kennedy, Nan Rheault, Tucker Wilson, Terry McCarthy, Ron Jackson, Jimmy Gibson, Bob Mone, Farleigh Dickinson. They all worked so hard to make this happen.”  

“Jimmy Gibson was an amazing electrician,” Don added. “He always had the part or knew where to get it, no questions asked.” 

It was a defining moment when the roof went up and the building was mostly enclosed. 

Then Don found some ice mats in New Jersey and trucked them back to the Island. Each mat was made of heavy-duty plastic and filled with glycol. It took several people to unroll them across the concrete slab. After the water was turned on the glycol would cause the water to freeze. 

Rolling up these huge mats at the end of the season was a laborious task for a large group of volunteers. I should know as I was there. We sweated through that work for several hours.

Having a roof meant that rain was no longer a problem. Next, funds were raised to buy a used Zamboni. It was a gas-powered beast, and I knew its inner spirit because in the winter of 1981 I was hired by Andre Bonnell as the first night manager of the arena. My major responsibilities were to make ice and drive the Zamboni.

There is an art of driving a Zamboni and pity the poor driver when it stalls out. A stalled Zamboni leaks water like crazy, creating holes in the ice. 

On several occasions my driving skills were met with a chorus of yelling and screaming by the hockey players as I frantically attempted to restart that stubborn machine. Eventually, I learned the proper route to cover all the ice in a timely fashion. Driving a Zamboni became an new addition to my resume.

From that hole in the ground in 1973, the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena has become a community center for high school hockey, youth hockey, figure skating and public skating. And like other successful Vineyard ventures, it took a slap shot by one person (Don Lambert) with assists from a dedicated group of volunteers. Don also became one of the Vineyard high school’s first head hockey coach.

It always takes one person to start the ball rolling, or should I say shoot the puck, and then the entire Vineyard community gets the win.

Ken Goldberg lives in Edgartown.