08/18/2026
Our home.
THE NIGHT WE SET FIRE TO OUR DEBT
Sackville, let me tell you a story.
2:00 p.m. Sunday, October 2nd, 1977. Right here on this ice.
The bleachers were packed. The program in everyone’s hands said:
A commemorative celebration held in recognition of the paying off of the mortgage and the people responsible for the concept and development of this Arena.
And at center ice, there wasn’t a hockey game.
There was a mortgage. And we set it on fire!
HOW WE GOT HERE
Five years earlier, this building didn’t exist. Our kids had nowhere to play.
So Sackville did what Sackville does. We built it ourselves.
We worked “in unison with the various service clubs in the community.”
Families donated whatever money they could to buy bricks from Chase Masonry. Real bricks.
Those are the same bricks that make up the walls we walk through today.
I’ve had people come up to me and say, “My parents owned a few bricks in that arena.” And they meant it. They literally owned a piece of this place.
But more than money, people put their names and their faith on the line.
Our LDRA Life Members, appointed 1975 & 1977:
John Payzant, Laurie Lively, Royce Hefler, Robert Bayard, Curtis Wilson, and Dennis Baxter.
And the 40 Guarantors of the Arena Debt:
Hugh MacDonald, Dennis Baxter, Lorne Hefler, Hugh Barrett, Glen Slaunwhite, Ted Blackburn, Fred Grace, Robie Ross, Bill Sharkey, Norman Hanley, Edgar Eisenhauer, Tom Chambers, Don Hyland, George Compton, Charles Burns, Laurie MacKenzie, Harold Parker, Francis Hurst, Wendell Mahew, George Matthews, Wayne Pardy, John Payzant, M.H. Bill Chase, Graham Hefler, Ken MacPhee, Kenneth Beazley, Ron Wolfe, Archie Fader, Bob McConnell, Owen Davis, Jim Bullerwell, Jim Nichols, Ernie Beaton, James Tifefield, Irving Shultz, Vaughan Johnson, Harvey Lively, Greg MacDonald, Les Stymest, and Don Hoopey.
Read those names. Those are coaches. Business owners. Dads and moms.
They signed papers that said “If this fails, we pay.”
That’s not fundraising. That’s love for community.
And it worked.
$500,000. Paid off in 5 years. Debt-free. Community-owned.
THE CHARGE
That day, LDRA President George H. Matthews stood here and gave us the words we still need to hear:
“This achievement could only have been accomplished by the unselfish dedication of the many volunteers who have given so much of their time and financial support...
I, therefore, charge this community with the responsibility of perpetuating the high standard that Sackville's Volunteers have established...
You worked for it, you built it, may you enjoy it in happiness and in health.”_
And then the flame. The mortgage turned to ash.
And Sackville knew: No bank owns us. We own this.
50 YEARS LATER
That promise is why we’re still here.
One of the last volunteer-run, community-owned arenas in all of Atlantic Canada.
This is where the Flyers learned to skate.
Where we cried together for our 6 fallen Flyers.
Where "The Hockeyvillers" in 2025 made all of Canada believe in Sackville again.
Where we host the Bill Chase AAA Cup — named for one of the very men who guaranteed this building.
This building is not steel and boards.
It’s bricks bought with $5 and $10.
It’s 40 names that risked everything so we could have ice.
It’s George Matthews asking us to keep the standard high.
It’s the heart of Sackville.
THE CHALLENGE: CAN 40 MORE NAMES COME FORWARD?
Sackville, buildings need us too.
Boards: $422,000
Bathrooms: $100,000
Accessibility: $200,000
New Pad: to keep the ice safe for the next 50 years
In 1977, 40 people guaranteed our arena.
Today I’m asking you: Can 40 more names come forward to guarantee our arena for the next 50 years?
Not to sign a bank loan. But to stand up and say: “This place matters. I’m in.”
Here’s how we guarantee the next 50 years:
Sponsor a Board - Put your family or business name on the new boards.
Buy a Brick - Just like 1977. Donate to the renovation fund
Give What You Can - $20, $200, $2000. Every dollar builds the future
Share This Story - Tell your kids about the night we burned the mortgage
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
I also want to give a special shout out to Shirley Beaton for handing us these pieces of history. Without her, this story wouldn’t be in our hands today.
And a big thank you to Beaton’s Towing for its continued community support over the years. The Beaton family has always shown up for Sackville. Ernie Beaton’s name is right there on our 1977 Guarantor list, and his friendship with so many in this community helped build what we have today. Families like the Beatons have supported causes financially in Sackville for generations —
That’s the Beaton way. That’s the Sackville way.
They burned a mortgage to give us a future.
They laid bricks to give us a home.
They signed their names so we could skate.
They charged us to keep the standard high.
Sackville, let’s answer that charge.
Let’s find 40 more names. 400 more donors. 4000 more people who believe.
Because this arena wasn’t built by government. It was built by us.
And it will be sustained by us.
Built by the community. Sustained by the community. Guaranteed for the next 50 years by the community.
Chris Fraser
President, Lake District Recreation Association
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