Noble’s Story
Donald Noble’s first exposure to building a skating rink came at age seven when he helped a neighbor dig a tiny trench around their yard in Cleveland, OH. They piled the dirt up around the edge, then flooded the center. Once the water froze, they had an ice surface on which to skate. Years later on January 24, 1934, Donald asked the then, Alice Jackson, out on their first date. They went ice skating at Brookside Park ice skating pond in Cleveland. They married in July 1939 and on every anniversary of their first date, they would go ice skating. Donald and Alice Noble passed along their love of skating to their four children, David, Richard, Jeanne and Nancy, skating at various rinks around the U.S. and other countries during their travels. Each of the children were on skates by age 3 or 4 years. Their grandchildren and great-grandchildren were also taught to skate.
Don Noble was born in 1915. He began his career in 1933 as a bank messenger during the depths of the depression and later worked as an accountant for National City Bank while attending college at Western Reserve University. After completing a hard-won college education, he joined The Wooster Rubber Company (later Rubbermaid Incorporated) as an accountant and rose through the ranks to become President and Chief Executive Officer in 1959. He was elected Chairman of the Board in 1974 and continued to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Rubbermaid until he retired in 1980.
Alice Noble graduated as valedictorian at West Technical High School in Cleveland and went to work as a bookkeeper for the National Brick Association. She later worked as an accountant at Fuller, Smith and Ross while attending night classes at Western Reserve University on full scholarship. In 1941, after almost three years of marriage, Alice and Donald were expecting their first child and moved to Wooster. Alice left her job to raise their family and became a well respected part of the Wooster community.
Mr. and Mrs. Noble combined their success with their love of skating in fulfilling their dream of building a skating facility in Wooster. They wanted to do something for the city that had been very good to them and provide area youth the opportunity to enjoy skating sports. This was a big leap from the backyard rink Donald helped his neighbor build as a child. Donald Noble died in June of 2002, just ten days after he and Alice enjoyed a ceremonial first trip around the new ice arena in a specially built sleigh on blades. Alice Noble, now in her nineties resides at a local nursing facility. Until recent years, she made regular visits to the arena to watch the skaters enjoying the beautiful facility that bears her name.
You can read their full story in the Memoirs of Donald E. Noble Like Only Yesterday.
Arena History
The Alice Noble Ice Arena was a donation from the Donald and Alice Noble Foundation to the citizens of Wooster, Ohio. Donald and Alice Noble shared a fondness for ice skating ever since their first date on the Brookside Park Ice Arena in Cleveland, Ohio back in January of 1934. They continued to share special family time on the ice and would often travel to various areas to enjoy skating.
Their dream of donating an indoor facility for their community became a reality in the fall of 2002. The Bogner Construction Company was commissioned to build the 5.4 million dollar facility to include an official NHL size ice sheet measuring 200’ x 85’ and bleacher seating along with many amenities necessary for ice related activities. The facility includes five team locker rooms, a full service concession stand, pro shop, video arcade, meeting/party rooms and a lovely spectator room with a perfect view of the arena.
Alice Noble Ice Arena offers a Learn-to-Skate program, public skating, birthday parties, adult hockey leagues, an afterschool program and various sessions for hockey and figure skating. The arena is home to the Wooster Hockey Club, High School club hockey team, the Wooster Figure Skating Club and the Wooster Oilers Junior team. These organizations host several games, tournaments and ice shows annually which, in turn, draw overnight visitors to Wooster from all over the United States and Canada.
The Alice Noble Ice Arena management and staff continue to oversee the Noble family dream by taking great pride in providing quality programs in a clean, family-friendly environment… making it the coolest place to be!