RAINBOW ROLLER RINK
© 2003, Tina L. Curtis
The Rainbow Roller Rink at Wattsburg was a popular spot for children, teens and adults for many years. It has been remembered as a tragedy since it burned in 1982.
The rink was not the first one that had been operated in Wattsburg. As early as 1883 James H. Moody operated a rink in what was known as the Williams block. This was a three story building located on Main Street about where the restaurant is now. Mr. Moody operated the rink at least until 1885 on the third floor of the wooden building according to the Union City Times.
After the turn of the century there were also skating rinks at Baldwin Flats and Lake Pleasant. The rink at Baldwin Flats was located on old Route 8 north of the four corners. It was operated by Orval Baldwin around 1920.
The rink at Lake Pleasant was established by Charles Duncombe in 1906. The acting was done in the dancing pavilion Duncombe had built in 1902. Skating was so popular during this time that he had to order more skates for people to rent. He had it open in the afternoons and evenings all week long during the summer. An individual could skate there in the afternoons for only 15 cents and in the evenings for 25 cents.
The Kent Brothers also operated a skating rink which opened in 1919. It was located in the barn-shaped section of what is now Longbranch Saloon on Main Street. Ross Kent remembered skating on the floor as it was laid by the workers. It remained in operation for a number of years. It is hard to imagine the sound that would have resounded through the downstairs as the wooden or metal wheeled skates circled the rink upstairs on the wooden floor.
The Rainbow Roller Rink was located on North Street behind what is now Klaiber’s Hardware. Presently it is a vacant parking lot. At one time, however, it was a beehive of activity for the area youth.
Kenneth Brumagin (my great uncle) decided to build the rink during World War II. Lumber was scarce at that time because it was being used for the war effort. It wasn’t that it was just expensive; it was simply unavailable to the general public for common use. Uncle Kenny didn’t let that hinder his idea. He went to Wrightsville and purchased a building so that he could tear it down to use the lumber for the new rink. His brother-in-law (my grandfather), Floyd Tanner, hauled the beams for the building’s frame to Wattsburg for him. The roof took on the shape of being rounded: a unique architectural design. The building was "sided" with a gray brick facade. Originally there were double doors in the center of the front with two small windows on each side. Windows also lined the sides of the building. The rink opened in 1945.
It wasn’t until 1961 when John and Ina Baroth owned the rink that it was remodeled. They had purchased the building in 1950-51 from R. H. Byerly. The simple rectangular building was made to be several feet longer to extend the skating area. The front of the building yielded a single door and a small window. The sides and back of the building, however, had double door exits with screen doors so they could be opened during the hot summer evenings. The extended floor also made room for a new soda fountain and a room to fix the skates and store them for rentals.
The Baroths also expanded the activities at the rink including skating lessons and organizing the Dance & Figure Club which skated competitively starting in 1962. They also held special parties for holidays or special occasions such as birthdays.
The rink has always held a special place in my heart. I can still see myself when I was three years old with my first pair of skates on my feet. Mom had taken me there for the first time to see if I’d like it. I remember holding the wall with both hands trying to walk on those skates. Needless to say, it was the last time I skated until I was old enough to be more independent on wheels.
One of my teenage birthdays was spent there with my friends and family. I particularly remember a variety of old photos the Baroths had framed and placed on the walls of the rink. One picture featured my father in 1957 at his sixteenth birthday party. Another photo was of me in my green sweat suit at my birthday party.
I also remember a couple of accidents. My sister was run down by another skater who was more skilled and going a bit too fast. She broke her arm when her skate hit her elbow as she fell. My cousin also fell and broke a bone at the rink. One of the signs I remember being posted stated "Skate at your own risk!". I guess that was why.
Games were popular amusement while skating. We played Farmer-in-the -Dell, Hokey-Pokey, and Limbo(?). We also played a round of Four-Corners every evening. It was played like musical chairs only everyone chose a corner when the music stopped. A dice was rolled to determine which corner was out of the game until only one person was left to receive the prized free pass. Other things I remember is Friday nights chasing the cute boys around the skating rink; crying in the corner (teenage emotions!), and the soft pretzels and candy.
What I remember most vividly took place on Thursday, January 7, 1982. I remember hearing the fire siren going off after school around 5pm. Being a bored teenager, I walked uptown to see about all the commotion. Taking a shortcut through the neighbors yards, I rounded the corner of the social hall to find the fire trucks hovering on North Street. Then I noticed the flames leaping out of the small window in the front of the building. By the time I arrived, the building was fully engulfed.
According to the news and newspapers, owner Ron Dunnewold had been trying to fix the floor of the rink. It had been warped on the west side of the building by the double doors due to water damage. (We always made sure to miss that spot while skating because everyone took a spill from it at least once.) Ron had left a heater running under the floor to help dry it from the treatment he was giving it. Meanwhile, he went to supper at the local restaurant around the corner before the kids arrived to skate that evening.
The evening was a cold one with the temperature dropping to 16 degrees while the firemen battled the blaze with cold water from French Creek. My father, Raymond Tanner, owned the local restaurant at the time and made sure to supply the firefighters with hot cocoa, coffee and sandwiches as they battled to keep other buildings including the restaurant from catching fire. Seventy-five firefighters from nine fire companies had turned out to help get the blaze under control. Without them we surely would have had another 1928 Wattsburg catastrophe on our hands. (Both sides of Wattsburg’s Main Street burned down in 1928).
I remember at least one firefighter being injured due to the blaze. He was on a ladder on the west side of the building when the front half of the roof collapsed. The collapse caused the wall to tip inward while the heat and flames shot upward. Though he was not seriously hurt, it scared everyone who watched.
The fire was extinguished in a couple of hours but the fire company was called back out during the night due to smoke. The fire under the floor had not been found until later. It was put out quickly without incident.
My final memory of the roller rink was after the fire. As kids, we were interested in snooping around inside to see what the damage looked like. We had to wait until after dark to sneak into the building. Though the middle of the roof was on the floor, the front of the building was still being held up by the partitions between the snack bar, skate repair room and office. We snooped in there to see what we could find. Everything was a shambles. Half burned papers were strewn on the floor, records were warped and broken. Charred skates lined the shelving. And there were dozens of those prized free passes everywhere. I still have a couple of them in my scrapbook with some half melted record shards. We also helped ourselves to anything we thought was good: skate wheels, skate laces, records, etc. I spent about the next two years feeling guilty because of a box of brightly colored skate laces laid hidden in the closet where my parents wouldn’t think to look.
The Rainbow Roller Rink is gone forever and is greatly missed by many people who remember it. It is still talked about with a touch of nostalgia and will always have a fond place in my own heart for the adventures it held for this young girl.
