An oldie but a goodie...Roller Skating!
By jillhill
@jillhill (37354)
United States
June 5, 2009 7:46pm CST
When I was growing up every little town had a roller rink. On Friday and Saturday night you would pop on down to the roller rink, slip on your skates and float across the highly polished floor to a disco light and cool music. If you went to fast and "bit it" you ended up with floor burns that took the cussidness out of you for a week. It was the place for good clean fun (except for a few who stole kisses in the corner) and your folks knew where you were. In the summer my sister and I would visit our Grandparents in Hull Iowa and they would set up a temporary rink in a big tent for the summer. I sometimes wished that there were still some roller rinks available for the good clean fun kids could enjoy. I used to love to roller skate....did you? Have you ever roller skated? Do you know if there are still roller rinks existing?
5 people like this
19 responses
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
12 Jun 09
Oh they are still around just few and far. I know cheapskate where I went as a kid is still open in coonrapids and i even went there when i was pregnant. And they have one near me as well havent been to that one yet.
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
18 Jun 09
Yeah havent been around here much but I always read your discussions and pop in once and awhile. Savanna is good shes still tiny nine months and she just hit 13 lbs. But shes crawling now so thats good. We should meet for dinner again soon. We are in albert lea every other sunday. That is if Andys ex comes back shes been gone for awhile on vacation so we will see how it goes hes supposed to get his daughter this weekend.
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
7 Jun 09
There was a rolling skating rink a short drive from me. When I was 10-13, we would go all the time. I finally learned to skate backwards. We had a disco ball and it was a mix of disco, rock , and pop that played.You had All Skate, Couples , and Trios, All girls and all boys. In the middle you could skate backwards or do stunts. I remember skating backwards to the Whole song of Second Change by 39 Special.By the time I was about 14, hip hop was taking over and I stop going . I think it is still there but I have to check.
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
9 Jun 09
Those were the good old days.I have to check and see if the rolling rink is still there.
@imsilver (1665)
• Canada
6 Jun 09
I wish there were still roller rinks. Well, I wish I could find a pair of roller skates. During the summer one of our rinks takes out the ice and opens in up to rollerbladers and skateboarders and such. If I could track down a pair of roller skates, I'd definatly be there. I've tried the inline skates but am definatly not as comfortable on them as I was on the rollerskates.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
14 Jun 09
Oh my gosh, you took me back. I use to Ice Skate when I was younger and didn't learn to Roller Skate until I was in my 30's. How funny! It was so much fun and I was an excellent Ice Skater so Roller Skating came almost naturally. We had an outdoor skating rink right up the street from where I lived when I was a kid, and every weekend, that's where the teeny boppers would go to hang out and be cool, haha.
We still have a roller rink not far from here, and there's a couple further away so they are still around.
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
8 Jun 09
Bad ankles here. I used to watch. Had a few friends at the local rink that would give me piggy back rides while they skated around. Whenever I tried I got a bruised butt! lol There are one or two around here still open.
@clutterbug (1051)
• United States
7 Jun 09
hi jillhill, There are a couple of roller skating rinks in our area. I don't skate much anymore, because there are too many younglings there now, and I am an oldling, ha. I used to enjoy only one or two songs that were played at the rink, and I skated much better when they were playing. "Temptation Eyes" was my favorite to skate to. I couldn't stand that "limbo" song, whereby skating stopped and the limbo took up valuable skating time. Thanks for the memories.
@AmbiePam (92743)
• United States
6 Jun 09
Now if there had been disco at my roller skating rink, I would have gone more often! The school my dad built next to the church he pastored had an interesting gym floor. He designed it so that people could also use it as a roller skating surface. So he went out and bought a lot of used skates (you should have seen my mother's face when he pulled into the driveway with a trailer full of unmatched skates).
So we actually went skating a lot when we were young. Our church youth group would also occasionally go to a skating rink in a nearby city. There were a lot more people and it was nice to get out just the teenagers... I haven't been skating in ages.
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
6 Jun 09
I loved to roller skate when I was little. I would skate outside on the side walk up and down our block. I didn't skate at roller rinks too often but the few times I did I loved it. My kids used to go skating at the skating rink. We still have one here not even 5 minutes from me.
My youngest daughter used to go to the rink the most out of my three kids. She is married now and has a son and where they live the nearest town that has one is only 20 miles away and they go there sometimes.
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
6 Jun 09
There was a roller skating rink a few towns away from where I grew up. The town I grew up in was really too small to have its own. I would go with friends several times a year, but not nearly as often as I would have gone had I lived closer. I think the last time I went roller skating I was about 20. The rink closed down shortly after that. A new one opened up in the miniature golf/arcade/go kart place up the road a few miles.
@ellie333 (21016)
•
6 Jun 09
Hi Jill, We neber had roller rinks that I was aware of here in the UK but I did use to be on rollerskates a lot and skate roud the block, the four wheel ones as the kids these days have roller blades, still four wheels but all in a row. I sold some old rollers skates on Ebay recently and was amazed when I git a bit for £21.00 it was because they were retro apparantly. Huggles. Ellie :D
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
6 Jun 09
As of a couple years ago there was still 1 roller rink in my general area. Granted it's on the opposite side of town, so it's a ways away, but it's there. They keep odd hours, I'd have to look at their website.
When I was a kid there were 2. There was one on the west side, and one on the north side (that's the one still open). I've been to both, but the one on the west side was closer to home normally. I had birthday parties there. The one on the west side closed eons ago. Now they're a DMV.
I remember the smell of them. It wasn't a bad smell, but it certainly had a distinct smell. Boy is that bringing back some memories!
Gosh I used to love skating!
I should look up the prices and see about taking my kids to that sometime.
@angelajoy (1825)
• Philippines
6 Jun 09
When I was young I used to skate all the time. There were lots of skating rinks here in my country. There was a summer vacation when all I did was skate. But I got tired of it in the end. I haven't skated for years and I don't know if I could still skate, and right now, the only skating rinks that I know of are for ice skating.
@fozziefm (85)
• United States
6 Jun 09
yes I did roller skate when I was younger and it was great. Like you I wished that they had a place around for kids to skate. I would even try to get back up on the skates I thought it was the best. I was not very good at but at least I was able to stay up more than I was down. LOL. those were the good old days. Grant you they have roller blades but they are not the same. I have tried them and I do not like them very much. Still they don't even have a place where the kids can even roller blade or stuff like around here. I guess the town is more interested in politics then creating fun for the kids for the summer. What do you think
@carolbee (16230)
• United States
6 Jun 09
I did roller skate many weekends in our area. We had two indoor rinks that I can recall and I did go to both. Our kids use to have indoor skating events with their school. I would go and skate with them. Don't think there are any roller skating rinks open in our area any longer but am not positive. I preferred ice skating. Skated all my life on anything that would freeze. Usually a creek or a bigger pond. We use to walk a couple of miles to a pond that would freeze regularly. The park department would send an employee to check the thickness of the ice and start a bond fire to keep the skaters warm. It was loads of fun. I now work for an indoor ice skating rink/golf course combination but don't skate any longer. Those were the good, ole days!
@kykidd (6812)
• United States
6 Jun 09
We still have roller rinks in our neck of the woods. But the roller rink in the county where I grew up is now a wholesale outlet.
We only got to go roller skating if the church was having a get together. Or, now and again, if a friend was having a birthday party at the roller rink. I think I only went roller skating once in my teenage years. The rest was all when I was a little kid. I did do well at the limbo, though. LOL
Thanks for the memories.
@crazydaisy (3896)
• Canada
6 Jun 09
Yes I use to go the roller rink there's was pop and all kinds of food there we would spend a whole day there after putting on our skates and float with the music there was dico or what ever was out in it was great I missed those days we go winter or summer to arena it was GREAT!!! I wish they had something like that now but it's sad that they don't if they do I be there..
cd
@coolcoder (2018)
• United States
6 Jun 09
I love to roller skate! In fact, there's a rink a couple of blocks from where I live, but I haven't been there for about four years due to being busy with school and such.
I was never into the roller blades as much as the good old-fashioned skates. The boot of the skate was much too stiff for me and didn't allow me to skate all that quickly. The soft leather of the old skates is much more my style. :)
