The sisters started life in Cape Breton, but spent their teenage years in Durham after Michelin hired their father.
“As teenagers, we always came to the Hector Arena for Friday night skates. Our parents thought it kept us out of trouble and it was always a good time,” remembered Kathi.
Years later, when both were already working in the food service industry, Lori called Kathi about a newspaper ad looking for someone to run the canteen.
Bob Naylor told them the arena had been using hockey parents to operate the canteen on a volunteer basis, but it was not working out.
“He was really anxious to have us take over, so we decided we’d give it a shot and see how it worked. I guess it worked out well enough because we’re in our 12th year,” said Kathi.
The canteen is only open two hours a night on weekdays with Lori coming from Mount Thom or Kathi from Pleasant Valley to cover the shift and each has a girlfriend who will fill in if necessary. On weekends, it is open throughout the day and the hours are matched to tournaments or provincials and the Pictou Exhibition.
In the early days, their father and mother, who worked all her life as a baker and caterer, would fill in the odd shift. One night their mother served up a big batch of brownies and the die was cast.
She continued to offer brownies after her mother passed away.
“People at the rink had started calling Mom the Brownie Lady and Lori is a great baker, so she makes lots of them. It’s not unusual to have away teams come in and suddenly remember this is the canteen where you get the brownies.”
The sisters also credit their mother with setting their standards.
“The burgers are all beef and that sometimes surprises people, but we decided whatever we cooked would be done the way we had it at home.”
That extends to the homemade soup – usually turkey vegetable, but tomato and cheddar for the occasional changeup – and the chili that are available on busy days.
During a busy spell one evening last week, parents and grandparents were busy feeding themselves and the children they brought to the rink.
“I thought I was done with all this long ago. My son is 31, but now I’m here all over again with the grandchild. I’m glad to have the fries again, though,” said a grandmother.
A father, with three kids in tow, came back for a second order of fries.
‘Better make it a large. I didn’t get any of the first order,” he said.
A man put in his order for a cheeseburger with fried onions, then stepped away to watch his son’s practice. Lori gave him a shout by name when his food was ready.
“Best burger anywhere,” he said.
A woman who had rushed from work to home to pick up her children had one on the ice and was splitting a grilled cheese platter with another.
“Sometimes there is just no time for supper,” she said.
A boy whose chin barely cleared the counter dumped out a handful of nickels and dimes and asked, “How much do I got?”
He happily left with a bag of candy and seven cents to spare.
An even younger boy asked for a hot chocolate and got it right away because they know his mother will be along in a minute to pay for it.
Another father came up to the counter and simply asked how much he owed.
“Thanks for looking after us when we forgot our money,” he added.
Kathi tells him how much, adding she wasn’t worried; she knew he’d be back.
“The way we look at it, this is the minor hockey family and we’re happy to be part of it, watching the kids improve each year. We hear all about the away games, how bad the refs were and everything else.”
Almost all the customers are regulars such as the woman who buys two date squares, one to eat while she chats and one for her pocket. They do have a couple of customers, though, who are not rink rats.
“They’ll call to make sure we are open and come by for takeout. We take that as a real compliment,” said Kathi.
Lori spent her share of hours as a hockey mom and enjoys the conversation as much as the work. She admitted there is a bit of volunteer work that comes with the job as she grabbed a handful of napkins and ran up to the stands to clean up a spill of fries and ketchup before somebody took a tumble.
“Kathi and I both like working with people. I’ve got a 16-month-old grandson and he’ll likely get skates next Christmas, so we’re hoping we’ll still be here to see him get started.”
Rosalie MacEachern is a Stellarton resident and freelance writer who seeks out people who work behind the scenes on hobbies or jobs that they love the most. If you have someone you think she should profile in an upcoming article, she can be reached at [email protected]
The sisters started life in Cape Breton, but spent their teenage years in Durham after Michelin hired their father.
“As teenagers, we always came to the Hector Arena for Friday night skates. Our parents thought it kept us out of trouble and it was always a good time,” remembered Kathi.
Years later, when both were already working in the food service industry, Lori called Kathi about a newspaper ad looking for someone to run the canteen.
Bob Naylor told them the arena had been using hockey parents to operate the canteen on a volunteer basis, but it was not working out.
“He was really anxious to have us take over, so we decided we’d give it a shot and see how it worked. I guess it worked out well enough because we’re in our 12th year,” said Kathi.
The canteen is only open two hours a night on weekdays with Lori coming from Mount Thom or Kathi from Pleasant Valley to cover the shift and each has a girlfriend who will fill in if necessary. On weekends, it is open throughout the day and the hours are matched to tournaments or provincials and the Pictou Exhibition.
In the early days, their father and mother, who worked all her life as a baker and caterer, would fill in the odd shift. One night their mother served up a big batch of brownies and the die was cast.
She continued to offer brownies after her mother passed away.
“People at the rink had started calling Mom the Brownie Lady and Lori is a great baker, so she makes lots of them. It’s not unusual to have away teams come in and suddenly remember this is the canteen where you get the brownies.”
The sisters also credit their mother with setting their standards.
“The burgers are all beef and that sometimes surprises people, but we decided whatever we cooked would be done the way we had it at home.”
That extends to the homemade soup – usually turkey vegetable, but tomato and cheddar for the occasional changeup – and the chili that are available on busy days.
During a busy spell one evening last week, parents and grandparents were busy feeding themselves and the children they brought to the rink.
“I thought I was done with all this long ago. My son is 31, but now I’m here all over again with the grandchild. I’m glad to have the fries again, though,” said a grandmother.
A father, with three kids in tow, came back for a second order of fries.
‘Better make it a large. I didn’t get any of the first order,” he said.
A man put in his order for a cheeseburger with fried onions, then stepped away to watch his son’s practice. Lori gave him a shout by name when his food was ready.
“Best burger anywhere,” he said.
A woman who had rushed from work to home to pick up her children had one on the ice and was splitting a grilled cheese platter with another.
“Sometimes there is just no time for supper,” she said.
A boy whose chin barely cleared the counter dumped out a handful of nickels and dimes and asked, “How much do I got?”
He happily left with a bag of candy and seven cents to spare.
An even younger boy asked for a hot chocolate and got it right away because they know his mother will be along in a minute to pay for it.
Another father came up to the counter and simply asked how much he owed.
“Thanks for looking after us when we forgot our money,” he added.
Kathi tells him how much, adding she wasn’t worried; she knew he’d be back.
“The way we look at it, this is the minor hockey family and we’re happy to be part of it, watching the kids improve each year. We hear all about the away games, how bad the refs were and everything else.”
Almost all the customers are regulars such as the woman who buys two date squares, one to eat while she chats and one for her pocket. They do have a couple of customers, though, who are not rink rats.
“They’ll call to make sure we are open and come by for takeout. We take that as a real compliment,” said Kathi.
Lori spent her share of hours as a hockey mom and enjoys the conversation as much as the work. She admitted there is a bit of volunteer work that comes with the job as she grabbed a handful of napkins and ran up to the stands to clean up a spill of fries and ketchup before somebody took a tumble.
“Kathi and I both like working with people. I’ve got a 16-month-old grandson and he’ll likely get skates next Christmas, so we’re hoping we’ll still be here to see him get started.”
Rosalie MacEachern is a Stellarton resident and freelance writer who seeks out people who work behind the scenes on hobbies or jobs that they love the most. If you have someone you think she should profile in an upcoming article, she can be reached at [email protected]
