KENT, Ohio — Matt Ruckus is a lifelong resident of the city of Kent. He has seen the city grow and change significantly over the last several decades.
“Downtown is so much more vibrant now,” Ruckus exclaimed. “It’s a totally different town. It is just exciting.”
He decided to document the changes in his community through an account he created on Facebook called “Murray TinyPines.“
Murray is a stuffed toy penguin that appears in photos that Ruckus posts to the social networking site.
“He [Murray TinyPines] takes pictures around Kent, showing everyone all the cool sites,” he said.
Most recently, he and Murray have been keeping residents up to date on the city’s newest addition: the outdoor ice rink.
“Every week I would come back and see the progress,” he said. “It went up pretty quick so we documented and put the photos on the page and people were really interested in it.”
This is the first year for the seasonal ice rink and it is located in the heart of Kent’s downtown.
“People are coming from all over the area to come to Kent just for the skating,” he said. “Bringing new people into town so hopefully they can visit all of the cool little shops we have or restaurants.”
The use of the rink is free, and there is no fee for skate rentals. It is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
