Grandma King
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:17 am
<br>There was something missing at the door<br><br>Wally Wakefield <br>staff writer<br><br>Polar Arena was a warmer place because of Ida<br>Something was different Nov. 22 when I walked into Polar Arena for the Edina/North girls hockey contest. <br>I always looked forward to the pleasant exchange I got when I handed Ida a lollipop, or root beer barrel as "payment" for admission. <br>The other day I didn't give much thought to who was taking tickets, but I had made sure I was ready to "buy" my way in. <br>The ticket-taker's hand went out, and I placed the root beer barrel into it. An unfamiliar face looked at me, then glanced at the "press pass" I presented as credentials for entrance. <br>She took a look at what was in her hand and tossed it into the nearby trash barrel. <br>So much for a taste of tradition. I was left wondering, but said little. <br>Later, I was informed that Ida King — the person who was there for as long as I could remember — would no longer be around. <br>She had lost her battle with cancer. How, I wondered, could I have missed her death notice when it ran sometime in early summer? <br>But I had!<br>The reason it seemed like King had been at the ice arena for as long as I could remember was simple. <br>She was on the scene at Polar Arena almost from Day One. <br>Polar Arena opened two days before Christmas in 1969, according to Crist Langelett, another long-time Polar Arena participant who was there on Day One. <br>"Ida came the next fall. She ran the concession stand we had built at the back of the football bleachers. ... then she began to collect tickets," Langelett said. <br>In 35 years Ida King saw a lot of hockey history walk through Polar Arena. <br>She watched a couple of her kids go through the North program. She saw thousands upon thousands of other kids walk through the door, grow up and leave. <br>Then, pretty soon, they were back with families of their own. Soon, they returned again — this time a little older — to root for their grandkids. <br>Ida started at Polar Arena when hockey was a sport for boys. She saw it evolve into a sport where girls became proficient. <br>She was there long enough to see Zamboni machines wear out. There have been countless paint jobs, new boards, and, as old-time fans will recall, glass installed to replace the chicken wire around the end boards. There have been several additions, remodelings and renovations. <br>Through it all, there has — until this season — been one constant. That was Ida King. <br>For some 35 years, Ida became — though not quite as wrinkled as the corrugated roof — as much a part of Polar Arena as the sheets of ice each fall. <br>Part of her success on the job could be attributed to her stern, rough demeanor, which was so easily replaced by her radiant smile. <br>Ida was truly an institution — a friend, confidante and timeless touchstone — to thousands in the hockey community. <br>"She was very faithful," stated Langelett, who was the first Polar Arena manager. <br>"She was the best," echoed Brad Martinson, who replaced Langelett when he stepped down in 1993. "She had a great sense of humor, but she was fearless. Nobody ever pushed her around." <br>No matter how many times I have occasion to go back to Polar Arena, I will continue to see Ida blocking my way at the door, waiting for my "ticket." <br>I could feel her presence the other night. <br>Ida King will always be a part of Polar Arena to the many people who walk through the door and miss seeing her. <br>Look for a legend, and you will find it with any who talk about Polar Arena and the individual to whom you handed your ticket — no matter what kind. <br>An old adage I have cited in the past, states, "To die and not be forgotten is not to have died at all." <br>Many will not forget Ida King.<br> <br> <p>*WILD HOCKEY FAN FOREVER*<br>"Infamous - Having an exceedingly bad reputation; notorious"</p><i></i>