Thinking ice skating couldn't be that hard, Arthur Bendiske sneaked away one night to an Anoka city park after watching his kids skate. He strapped on skates and tried to glide across the ice.
"It didn't go well," said Bendiske's daughter Jill Minor, of Anoka. "My dad could not skate. There was a lot of humor that night."
Bendiske's love of watching his children skate and play hockey spurred him to help raise money for Anoka's first indoor hockey rink, built in 1981 on land he had persuaded the city to donate. The Anoka Area Ice Arena was largely constructed by volunteers and funded by donations and grants. More recently, Bendiske worked to get a new lobby and additional locker room built.
He died Monday from lung disease at his home in Anoka. He was 72.
"He was great for Anoka," said Buster Talbot, his friend and a former Anoka County sheriff.
"He was a great tradesman, and his word was gold. He was just a great guy who did lots and lots."
There has been discussion about naming one of the two sheets of ice at the Anoka Area Ice Arena after Bendiske, who made sure that the rink ran smoothly and that its debt was paid off without any taxpayer money, said rink manager Bill Ruckel.
Bendiske's handiwork can also be seen in the charming buildings that line Anoka's Main Street. He ran a concrete and masonry company and did tuck-pointing at many of the shops on the street.
