To appreciate how we got to a particular point in time we need to understand how rough the journey was. Skating and hockey in this area was done in the outdoors, at the mercy of the weather. From all accounts the weather back in the early to mid 1900s just seemed to be much harsher than it is today.
Lester’s Arena, which was originally situated in the north end of the Township of Toronto, was built just after WW11. Lester’s was a favourite destination for people from surrounding municipalities as well as teams from the Toronto Township Hockey League.
It was, in fact, an enclosed arena with natural ice. Water to flood the ice was drawn from the adjacent Etobicoke Creek. The arena offered a great deal more comfort to the skaters and hockey players than what they had been accustomed to until then. On bitterly cold nights, one could skate without harsh cutting winds blowing across the ice surface. Albeit, there was little protection from the cold, but then again, no one really knew much different. Frozen ponds, rivers and outdoor skating rinks were still very much the norm of the day.
The arena was constructed on the property of the Lester family farm, located on Lots 13-14, Cons. 1, EHS, which at the time was owned by Fred Lester. (The establishment of Regional Government and subsequent realignment of municipal boundaries in 1974, placed the original site into what is now the City Brampton.) Fred and his two brothers, Clare and Ellis, built the arena following the end of the war by using the frame of an airplane hanger acquired from CFB Trenton, and incorporating a barn, which they also acquired, into the building of the structure.