Ice Skating, Then and Now

The small community near me is flooding the baseball field this year to have an ice skating rink.  This was done in the little town I lived in every year.  So what is different now?

30-40s Free, anytime you wanted to skate--no supervisors, just come and skate--City Recreation Department was funded by our taxes, I assume
2010    $5 or $10 Family, 4 to 8 PM every day (Fundraiser for Recreation and Park District)

30-40s No snack bar--we brought our own snacks.
2010    Snack Bar operated for Fundraiser

30-40s No rules that I know of...
2010    Must sign a release of liability and must wear a helmet if  under 18

30-40s City Equipment kept the ice cleared of snow 
2010    Volunteers needed to prep the ice at noon

30-40s  No adult supervision
2010     Need volunteers to staff from 4-8 pm

30-40s  Shed with big pot stove and plenty of wood and benches to sit by the fire and warm up
             (No adult supervisors and the place never burned down, no one was ever burned that I know)
2010     Go sit in your car and warm up, I guess

30-40s  We all managed to have our own skates--a lot were just strapped on to the shoes or galoshes
2010      Asking for new and used skates to be donated

Yes, it was a different world in the 40's.  Kids were expected to take care of themselves and use some common sense and  respect the property.  The community provided all kinds of recreational activity and nobody sued or expected someone to nurse them if they got hurt.

Of course, I was just a kid then, but I know it was a huge field and the boys could play their hockey and the girls still had plenty of room to skate and we somehow all got along fine without skating in a circle around the rink with everybody going the same direction.

Lighting, I think there were some light posts around, but it could be pretty dark in some areas.  How late did we skate?  Well, this was Montana and it was a lot colder than here so we went in and warmed ourselves when needed and went home when it was too cold or we were too tired to go longer. If we'd had to pay every day, none of us could have skated.