One way to appreciate what’s happening at the Skokie Park District is to get up at 3:45 in the morning.
That is the time Ron Matis sets his alarm every Saturday night to play hockey the next morning at the district’s Skatium Ice Arena. No matter if Matis is out dancing with his wife until 2 a.m. Saturday or tucked in by 10 p.m., he’s up every Sunday before 4 a.m.
“Yes, there are people out there who think I am nuts,” said Matis, 58, of Elmhurst. “But it’s only those who’ve never played hockey before.”
Hours before dawn, Matis and at least 17 of the regulars in their group, appropriately named the BHL–Bonehead Hockey League–drive from as far as Schererville, Ind., Aurora and Tinley Park to hit the ice by 5:30 a.m.
“I don’t always want to get up, and we all have aches and pains,” said Matis, who has undergone four knee operations to continue playing the game he loves. “But when you hit the ice, you just get this burst of energy. It makes all the pain and suffering of getting there and getting out of bed worth it.”
Often Matis and his crew are so eager that they’re waiting in the parking lot when rink employees arrive to unlock the doors.
“This group is really what the Park District is about,” said Frank Gallagher, Skatium facility manager. “They’ve got every walk of life playing with them. There’s doctors, veterinarians, crane operators, firemen and police officers … blue collar, white collar you name it. But the common thread for all these guys is the love of hockey.”
Jazzercise to Britney
Fast forward a few hours and drive 2.4 miles southeast and the morning Jazzercise class was winding down at the Lincolnwood Community Center.
The room, which at other times hosts senior card parties, teen dances and tot recreation classes, roared with the beat of Britney Spears’ newest release.
A dozen or so women, mostly in their 50s and 60s, are doing sit-ups. In unison, they lift their heads and shoulders to the rhythm of the 20-year-old pop star. What appears grueling and borderline painful, these women contend to love.
“This is the first group in my whole life who did not laugh at me when I couldn’t do something exactly like the rest–and I love it,” said Karen Hainke, 61, of Lincolnwood.
“This is my hour just for me. I get up, get out of the house and go. And most importantly, I feel great doing it.”
Hainke, in a few sentences, described the missions of the Skokie Park District and the Lincolnwood Department of Parks and Recreation.
The two differ greatly in size, structure and number of residents. Skokie’s Park District serves more than 60,000 residents and employs 250 full-time staff members. The district is a separate taxing entity and is governed by a board elected by area residents.
Lincolnwood serves 12,000 residents and has five full-time staff members. A parks and recreation board appointed by the mayor acts as an advisory body, but similar to the village’s Police and Fire Departments, parks and recreation is regulated by the village trustees and funded through village taxes.
“We’re very different, but our roles are similar,” said darlene lynam, Lincolnwood director of parks and recreation.
“No matter a resident’s passion, fitness level or concept of fun, it’s our job to help them get out and recreate.”
New rowing center
For rowing enthusiasts, Skokie in December unveiled the Dammrich Rowing Center, named for former Park Board President Thomas Dammrich. It has two indoor rowing tanks, an indoor training area and a dock to launch boats into the adjacent sanitary canal.
“Strength- and cardiovascular-wise, rowing is one of the best activities for you,” said Scott Runkle, Dammrich Center manager. “We’ve designed this facility to cater to the die-hards who want to get serious time in and those who have never rowed. Our goal is to get residents–no matter their experience level–out onto the water.”
A mile west, and now around midday, Lottie Eimer, 79, of Chicago, and her grandson, Aaron Goldstein, 11, of Northbrook, were hitting golf balls at Skokie’s Sports Park.
Missing from the scene are the ball buckets used at most golf practice facilities across the country. At Sports Park, customers buy debit cards and receive range balls through an automated system installed in each hitting stall. Once a ball is hit, the rubberized tee drops through the floor and almost magically reappears with a fresh ball.
“We have more than 200,000 balls, most in storage,” said Tim Dixon, a range supervisor, pointing to the white specks dotting the range. “So even in the middle of winter when it’s tough to get out there and pick up the balls up, we’ll never run out.”
While Aaron’s flailing swing sent shots slicing to the right, two stalls over Mike Krypel’s controlled motion launched balls so high into the midday sky, they were tough to follow.
Krypel, who lives near Grand Avenue and Diversey Parkway in Chicago, drives by at least one other driving range to hit balls in Skokie.
“I just really like this facility,” said Krypel, 52. “There’s always parking and the people are just so nice. It’s worth the drive.”
After launching his last ball, a perfectly placed 150-yard floater that softly lands on the plastic target green, Krypel revealed his pre-season goal. “I just want to shoot in the 80s consistently,” he said. “If I do that, I’d be thrilled.”
Although she praised the concept of recreation, Hainke admitted it is not always easy to find the inspiration to work out, especially early in the morning.
“It’s sometimes a struggle to make it out of bed. You keep asking yourself `Do I really want to go? Why am I doing this? Do I really want to get out of this warm bed?'” she said. “But when you get here and the music starts, I realize I’m just glad I made it out of bed one more day.”
