YANKTON – “It’s a ‘Miracle’,” say three who were involved early in the process of getting indoor ice at Yankton.

A miracle that will be celebrated with a “fire-on-ice” mortgage burning ceremony next month at the ice arena in the Kiwanis 4-H Youth Activities Center building.

Dave Spencer, John Lillevold, and Terry Pedersen attended meetings 10 years ago at which the possibility was discussed of an indoor ice arena and hockey at Yankton.

In fall 2005, first indoor ice was formed on a temporary floor inside the Kiwanis 4-H building.

By fall 2006, a permanent, cement, ice-forming floor had been constructed. Hockey, figure skating, and other ice activities have been held on that structure every winter since 2006.

Costs associated with the building and floor amounted to $700,000.

Pedersen, formerly president of the Yankton Area Ice Association, has his name on the bank note that provided the money.

He’ll be glad to see his name and that of the YAIA on the mortgage go up in smoke when it is consumed by flames, March 15, in the arena at a special, invitation-only ceremony.

Among those specially invited is Patty Brooks, wife of famed coach Herb Brooks.

He guided the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” USA Olympic hockey team to an historic win over a tough Soviet Union team that year.

Patty Brooks is a Yankton native, whose mother, Hilda Lane, resides here still.

In addition to the burning event, which is planned to get underway in a ceremony starting at 5:30 p.m., there will be recreational skating for the specially invited guests until about 9 p.m., according to Spencer.

It’s been quite the accomplishment, the three men noted one day recently at the hockey arena, reflecting on all that had happened in the past 10 years since indoor hockey and indoor ice were first being mentioned at Yankton.

Pedersen said all that has happened is a display of grassroots power.

A display of the ability of work-a-day, “average Joe” people in this town of 14,500 to make something grand happen.

The burning of the mortgage “means accomplishment,” Pedersen explained.

“It means success. It means that it’s possible to have a vision and a dream and see it through with hard work and a little bit of luck.

“It’s a proud moment and a reflection of everybody coming together.”

Lillevold likened it to “nail soup.”

“You put the nail in and you make soup - just add some potatoes and some carrots and a little meat.”

“And that’s what it was. We came with an idea and people said, “Well, I can do this and I can do that.”

“And pretty soon you got a rink going.”

Timely help was huge when it came to getting the building and rink in place and operational.

“There were always key people showing up,” Lillevold noted.

Pedersen agreed. “An electrician, a plumber, a construction guy. We needed something and someone stepped up.”

They did it as volunteers, he continued.

“No one was doing it to make money. It was for the community. For the kids. It was just a noble grass-roots project.”

What was going on at Yankton appealed to others beyond the town, Lillevold mentioned.

“A lady called me up from Brookings and she said, ‘I’m a figure skating coach. Would you mind if I helped out?’”

Lillevold enthusiastically invited her to participate.

Pedersen pointed out that people knew they were having an impact when they helped Yankton establish indoor ice and hockey and figure skating.

“Every time someone did something, it made a difference. And they could measure that.”

“There was a lot of self-satisfaction for one person, doing one little thing that, combined with it all, (was) successful.”

“People realized that, recognized that, and wanted to be a part of something new and something exciting.”

No charges for all sorts of volunteer work to establish the ice building and arena were, of course, tremendously helpful.

Donations in the tens of thousands of dollars by Yankton Kiwanis and the Alcoa Foundation (Alcoa is now SAPA in Yankton) were big steps towards meeting the three-quarter million dollar debt.

Right up there with them was private citizen Luella Machin, according to Lillevold.

Pedersen recalled working to get 100 people to donate $1,000 each towards the $100,000 ice-making floor.

After the tremendous labor to get the temporary floor in place in ‘05, he had 10, who helped install that floor, pledge $1,000 apiece in about five minutes time one day towards a permanent ice-making floor, he said.

They did not want to go through putting together a temporary floor again.

It was by far, many, many donations of this size and smaller that moved the YAIA along towards paying off its mortgage, Spencer indicated.

Signs that advertise all sorts of goods and services offered by many Yankton area businesses adorn the walls of the ice arena building

Concession sales, admission charges for various skate activities open to the public, rental fees, and other income-raising activities have also played a part.

“The city and the county have helped,” Spencer reported.

“They got the parking lot paved. And they helped with the cost of the locker rooms.”

But 94-percent of donations and monies provided to help retire debt have come from the private sector, he noted.

The “believing” private sector, according to Spencer.

There were a number of “unbelievers” in town and he and those who wanted indoor ice were aware of them, Spencer stated.

“We were once told that we could not raise the kind of money needed to build this (the building and the ice arena within).

“We were told that nobody would use it. Nobody would come if it was built.

“And we didn’t believe that.” Spencer continued: “We knew there was an activity missing in the wintertime. There were plenty of kids in this town not doing something during the winter.”

Plenty of kids as shown by most every other town generally Yankton’s size in the state with basketball, gymnastics, and winter swim teams, who still have vibrant hockey and figure skating programs, Spencer, Lillevold, and Pedersen intoned.

“We were told we would hurt other sports,” Spencer stated.

“We would water down wrestling, water down basketball,” Pedersen added.

“I think we’ve done nothing but help them,” Spencer continued.

“Spread the kids out a little bit more.” Spread them out by providing yet another choice for a sport. Choice means more chance of getting youth who are participating in a certain sport because they are enthusiastic about it, rather than just going out for something, but not really caring, according to Pedersen.

From a coach’s viewpoint, that is way more acceptable. “And so now you’re coaching the kids who WANT to be in that sport,” he explained.