Living in a community where the school teams are known as the Eskomos, I question if it's a coincidence that Mother Nature seems to test the toughness of our residents, even at the Mite level. Last year, it was a blizzard that challenged AJ and his teammates during the Esko hockey tournament. This year, it was frigid temperatures.
Air temperature at game time was -11 degrees. Thankfully there was little wind and bright sun. We dressed him in layers and stuffed hand warmers in his skates.
As we headed out the door, AJ commented, "It's a nice day, isn't it?"
I responded, "You just keep telling yourself that."
By the time game two rolled around, the temperature had warmed to a balmy 3 degrees above zero. I would have taken more photos, but the cold zapped my battery. Here's a glimpse of AJ (white helmet, #3) in action:
An interesting side note: while I understand how our school's nickname evolved from the town's name, I started wondering about the origins of the name Esko. I know it's a Finnish name, but that's about it. Searching online, I discovered a book project is in the works to tell the history of Esko, and while the website for the project reveals plenty about the town's background, it doesn't explain the origin of the name.
I looked a little more and finally found a reference on the town's official website, on a page about the local historical society, the location is listed as on "the heart of the Alex Esko farm."
AJ thinks that's a pretty cool coincidence.
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