These chapters in the Town of Mina’s history are among the most remembered and treasured. They are all part of the Town of Mina’s “Sentimental Journey” Bicentennial celebration.

The Findley Lake Roller Rink lives in the memories of many people in the area. In the 1930s, it was operated as both a skating rink and a Saturday night dance hall by Harry Teets. In 1942, it was purchased by Clayton and Autumn ‘Boots’ Burmaster.

Autumn ‘Boots’ ran the skating rink after the sudden death of her husband. Art Cooper and Peter Howard were floor managers at the time. Their main duty was to keep the skating speed down to a safe level. ‘Swanee’ Clarence Swanson repaired and maintained skates and ran the skate rental.

Boot’s daughter, Linda Filipkowski, has many fond memories of the roller rink. ‘My father and mother threw my 1st grade birthday party at the rink and the Ship ‘n’ Shore,’ she said. ‘A heavy-set boy went sailing past my father, out the door and down the steps.’

An antique sign advertising Pratt’s Eastern Divide Airfield remains on what used to be the airplane hanger.

The rink had a live organist on weekends, and her father taped the skate music, Filipkowski said. Mary Roberts was the organist in the 1940s and 50’s.

Filipkowski’s mother, ‘Boots,’ taught many area children how to skate. “We had skating classes on weekends and after school in the afternoons,” she said. The students were called the Wee Widgets, she added. “And anybody who gave my mother their picture, she hung it on the wall in the rink.”

The rink was also a center of budding romance, Filipkowski said. “Everybody misses it. I couldn’t tell you the number of people who met their husbands and wives there,” she said.

Boots Burmaster sold the rink in 1965. The building remained standing until 1993 when the roof caved in for the seventh time from heavy ice and snow. “That’s when the rink came down,” Filipkowski said.

Outside of the Village, near the intersection of Sulpher Springs and Stetson roads, one can find the location of what was once the Sulphur Springs Speedway. The dirt racing track was built by Findley Lake resident Ernie Stetson and ran from 1956 to 1959. Even though the track was only in operation for three years, many of the drivers who raced there, went on to prominence in the stock car racing circuit.

Vicki Stetson, whose father, Harold, and her uncle Ernie operated the track, worked at the concession stand with Ernie’s two daughters. “People would bring their families and spend the whole day,” she said. “The concession stand was an old chicken coop, scrubbed up good and painted.”

The racetrack, which was built in an old sheep pasture, is now the site of two ponds, Stetson said. Both races and demolition derbies were held there. “Sometimes, they would have a big campfire and roast a lamb, and the coyotes would circle around,” she said. “You could see their eyes. It was spooky.”

Harold Stetson set up the bleachers for people to sit on, Stetson said. Even though they had a concession stand, most people brought their own food. “We just sold hot dogs, chips and pop, mainly,” she said.

Ernie Stetson who owned the race track was a memorable character, Stetson said. “Ernie was a tall man and slender and had the biggest hands I ever saw,” she said. “Two drivers once got into a fight in the pit and he just grabbed them and picked them up and dropped them to the ground.”

On April 25, 2015, the Town of Mina and the Findley Lake Historical Society hosted an event commemorating the vintage race track. Fans, drivers and members of Ernie’s family came together to share memories of Sulphur Springs Speedway.

Pratt’s Eastern Divide Airfield, which is located 3 miles northeast of Findley Lake, has been in operation since 1961. It is still in operation but is no longer owned by the Pratt family.

The airstrip, which runs from east to west is currently 2,600 feet long, said Frank Pratt, whose father built the airstrip. “It’s a private airfield for public use,” he said. “It’s also used as an emergency airfield.”

The airstrip was formerly a cow pasture, Pratt said. “My dad, mom, myself and my sister cleared it up,” he said. “‘It was originally 800 feet long, then it went to 1,299 feet and then to 2,600,” he said.

Pratt said his father purchased the property from his sister. While he was constructing the airfield, the thruway was also under construction. “When the Thruway was coming through, they needed earth,” he said. “My father took dirt off the runway, and it ended up on the highway.”

Pratt’s father owned several planes, including a Cub, a Cessna and a Beechcraft, he said. “My father’s saying about the airstrip was ‘You can fly off the top of the world’ because the aristrip is located at such a high elevation,” he said.

The Town of Mina’s Bicentennial celebration will be held this weekend. Memories of the Sulphur Springs Speedway, the Findley Lake Roller Skating Rink and the Pratt Eastern Divide Airstrip will be just a small part of the ‘Sentimental Journey’ that makes up the town’s 200th anniversary.