Story Photos
 Photo by Dave Rubert Howard Monroe, 82, of Kelso takes a farewell lap around the rink of Skate World on Sunday, the rink's last day of business. |
Skate World falls silent after nearly 3 decades
Sunday, April 29, 2007 11:24 PM PDT
By Janine Manny
Printable version
E-mail this articleTonja Davis was 11 years old when Kelso Skate World opened. Her first kiss was on the dimly-lit skating rink when she was 14.
Now 40, Tonja Davis-Stirling of Longview shared her memories Sunday, Skate World's final day of business.
"I was here the day it opened, and I'm here the day it closed," she said. "I haven't skated in at least 10 years, but I wouldn't have missed this for world."
Davis-Stirling didn't look a bit rusty as she boogied to "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and scissored through the "Rec Skate" for advanced skaters.
"I never missed an all-night skate. I never missed a skate dance," she said. "I skated every Friday and Saturday night and was here on Wednesdays for lessons."
Davis-Stirling said the place was so packed on opening night -- 29 years ago -- there wasn't even room to fall down. The music, the atmosphere and the attitudes have changed since she was a kid. The only thing the same, she said, is the carpet.
"This needed to be changed 15 years ago," she said.
Employees had been instructed not to talk to reporters Sunday. Last week, Skate World Manager Buzz Stratton said as far as he knows, the future tenant doesn't plan to operate the property at 2219 Talley Way as a roller-skating rink. But if all works out well, it will remain a recreational facility of some sort, he said.
Mona Cooper, who oversees Skate World's four skating rinks in Washington and Oregon from her office in Sacramento, Calif., would not disclose last week who the new tenant is because the lease hasn't been signed.
"I would love to see it turned back into a skating rink the way it was," Davis-Stirling said. "Bring the old crowd back. The '70s and '80s were the best for skating rinks."
Skate World was teeming with business Sunday.
"See what a little advertising would do?" asked Larry Mulligan, 53, who spends a lot of time at Skate World with his kids. "Nobody is happy it's closing."
Residents may be sad it's closing, but Skate World's revenue hasn't been enough to keep it open. More than 500 people a day used the rink when it first opened, lately it's been 500 a week.
Kevin Watenpaugh, 20, of Kelso, has been skating at Skate World since he was 10 -- half his life.
"This is where I came to relax," he said. "When I was stressed, I could hang out with friends. I'm going to have to drive an hour to Portland to skate now."
Howard Monroe, 82, hadn't been to Skate World since last May, but he was there Sunday to say goodbye.
"I got tired of skating here," he said. "I had an awful time with the noise."
Monroe glided around the rink Sunday, listening to his own music through headphones. He said he is blind in his right eye and can't see well in the low light. He also worried less-experienced skaters would go the wrong way or cut in front of him, knocking him down.
Monroe has lived in Kelso since 1954. Before Skate World, he skated at Rol-o-Way in Longview. Now, he skates every day on his own rink in silence and solitude.
"I own the house next to mine," he said. "It had been vacant for years, so I knocked down some walls and put in a new floor."
Elaine Crabb, 45, was a Skate World regular. She was fighting back tears as she laced up her skates for the last time.
Crabb has two children, ages 24 and 11. She has been through two generations of skating at Skate World.
"I bring a lot of kids here," she said. "I hope they come through with something (for skaters) in Longview."
Crabb said that summers had been slow at Skate World, and she said attendance dropped sharply two weeks ago with the beginning of spring soccer and baseball.
"It's easy to stay busy during the summer," she said. "But once school starts, there isn't a lot for kids to do."
Kelsi Dexter, 6, was the last child to get the "Happy Birthday" song at Skate World.
It was her first Skate World party, she said, but she'd been to many others.
"I'm sad it's closing," she said.
Her mother, Renee Dexter, said Kelsi turns 7 in May, but she moved her daughter's party up so they could hold it at Skate World.
"My brother worked here when he was a teenager, talk about memories," she said. "We were just starting to bring our own kids here -- they're finally old enough. Now we'll have to drive somewhere else. We're not going to quit skating, we just can't skate here."
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