There are few figurative certainties in life. Not literal certainties, like death and taxes, but the types of things that you just know will happen.
For instance, at the Academy Awards you know at least one winner will make their speech a political statement. Or that a kicker will credit God for his ability to boot a football through a goalpost to win a game.
Locally, there is a figurative certainty anytime there is an online mention of new development in Marysville. Whether it is a gas station, apartment complex or Amazon warehouse, new construction is met with at least one person saying “I wish they would put in a skating rink.” This used to be coupled with a plea for a steakhouse, but Texas Roadhouse threw water on that fire.
People online bemoan the lack of activities for children in Marysville and for some reason think a skating rink is the answer – in 2022. I guess they are waiting on cassette tapes and asbestos to make a comeback as well.
I know people around here want to glamorize The Skating Palace, formerly located near the site of the Applebee’s restaurant, but let’s be honest, there are only so many times you can skate around in a circle with your friends before you are sick of it. And that was true back when children were more easily entertained. In the ‘80s, virtual ping pong was accepted as a video game and texting with friends involved a folded sheet of notebook paper passed when the teacher turned her back. The world was smaller back then and rolling in a circle was a suitable pastime.
It’s easy to get caught up in the chorus online about the good old days of the skating rink. I’m not convinced most of those calling for the return of the rink ever rolled the local oval.
On the other hand, I actually went there. The playlist from the D.J. booth is the background noise of my middle school memories. I have listened to “We Built this City (on Rock and Roll),” “Head over Heels,” “The Power of Love,” “Sara,” “Broken Wings,” “Raspberry Beret,” “Sussudio,” and “Crazy for You” more times than hosts on 97.9 FM during the Reagan years. On the weekends I subsisted on passable pizza slices and Donkey Kong Jr., while inhaling gaseous gallons of mist from the fog machine.
It was a great spot to gather back then because the only other options were school dances or prep sporting events. But, even back then, the target age for roller skating was limited. Kids had to be old enough to be left alone, but young enough not to have friends with driver’s licenses. Once teens were old enough to drive, the lure of the skating rink faded fast.
The plain truth is, the skating rink was always a better deal for the parents than it was for the kids. Think about it, parents get to drop a child off at a safe and supervised spot where a little bit of money went a long way. A $20 bill could easily last you all night. The Skating Palace was the cheapest babysitter in town. Bumps and bruises aside, it was also a relatively safe spot. Parents didn’t have to worry about fist-fights at the skating rink, because if two guys threw punches they would simply roll away from each other on impact.
And in the world today, where youths can converse digitally or log-on for multi-player video games, there is simply no need for places like skating rinks or drive-in movies. Sure, those places still exist, but they are scattered far and wide, rather than being fixtures in every town. The reason they still exist at all is for older audiences seeking simpler times and a nostalgic buzz. A good portion of the people traveling to the rinks and drive-ins that still exist are parents exposing their children to a slice of the good old days.
The truth is, skating rinks are businesses, not nonprofits. They aren’t government subsidized and need money to survive. The money comes from patrons and a sustained wave of customers doesn’t exist around here anymore. It’s simply not what modern children want to do, otherwise there would be one in every town. Those people asking for a skating rink need to realize that we already had one and it went away because it didn’t have enough support from the community.
–Chad Williamson is the managing editor at the Journal-Tribune.