Medford Hockey History

 Hockey in Medford can be traced back to at least the 1940's when Medford High School fielded teams. On of those, the 1946 Squad, won the state YMCA championship. Medford Area Youth Hockey Association was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 1984. The first Board of Directors consisted of Jim Bauer, William D. VanLaarhoven, TimKoenig, treasurer Barry Werner, president Charles A. Stoerzinger, Doug Pinkston, Bill Werner, Jeff West, secretary Calvin Steen and Allen Williams. The first hockey boards were a joint effort. The Association bought the materials and the city crew, under the direction of Bill Tylka, assembled the boards. The out-door rink was located in the City Park. The first “Zamboni” was the old city fire engine which deposited water on the ice which was groomed by a piece of carpet pulled behind the truck. The first few years, the program consisted of only 32-34 skaters, including one girl, Connie Hein of Rib Lake. Hockey became a WIAA - sponsored sport in 1971. In 1989, the Youth Hockey Association proposed to the school district to re-establish a WIAA high school team, with the Youth Hockey Association Providing manpower and covering most of the expense. Also in 1989, Pep Simek expressed interest in helping the association finance an indoor facility. The Association had established a building fund which has a grand total of about $3500 at the time. Without the generous donations from Pep and Fran Simek and many others, the Simek Recreation Center would not be possible. As the cost of an indoor facility was explored, it became obvious the expense could not be justified for just a handful of hockey players. The obvious solution was to build a multi-purpose facility that would benefit the community as a whole. The Simek Recreation Center was dedicated August 11, 1990 and offers winter sports such as hockey (currently 100-110 skaters), figure skating (about 120 skaters), open recreational skating, hockey tournaments and figure skating shows. The facility was designed to accommodate “dry floor” events such as wedding receptions, reunions, craft, sport, car shows, business meetings, seminars, and indoor tennis, etc..