{"id":1749,"date":"2022-12-06T02:02:26","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T02:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devotedgrandma.com\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2022-12-07T20:39:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T20:39:13","slug":"skating-rinks-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devotedgrandma.com\/nostalgia\/skating-rinks-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing Beat Going To The Skating Rink In The Past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The sound of the ice cream man\u2019s music, the smell of Mom cooking my favorite meal, and consuming sweet, gooey cotton candy at an amusement park; these are just some of the things that elicit nostalgia and happy memories of my childhood. A time when life was simpler!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some of these memories remain in the past, some still exist. One of my greatest childhood memories is going to the old skating rink on a Friday night with nothing but a couple of bucks in my pocket!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Skating
John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972-2008), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Skating Rinks on a Friday Night<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My friends and I would lace up our skates and hit the skating rink almost every Friday night. I remember that Friday nights were a particularly fun time to visit the skating rink as that\u2019s the night they played loud music and had the disco ball hung. We would sing along to our favorite songs while attempting not to fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old skating rinks would have a concession stand full of yummy snacks, and on Friday nights, they would offer fresh-made pizza and soft pretzels with warm cheese. I loved to skate for hours until my hunger got the best of me, and then I visited the concession stand for a warm slice of pizza and a fizzy Coca-Cola! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bright-colored carpets and shiny disco ball made the old skating rinks memorable and almost antique now in today’s culture. Also, the smell<\/a> of the rubber skates gliding along the rink resonates with me even to this day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy memories always tend to stick with you for your entire life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skating Rink Nostalgia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skating rink nostalgia is something most people born between 1960-1990 will experience because rinks were such a prominent part of our lives<\/a>. Childhood memories are usually the best memories we ever have, and skating rinks were a large part of that. That\u2019s why every time you drive past the old skating rink, you get those feelings of nostalgia flooding back in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can still remember the strange smell of the combination between cigarette smoke and freshly popped popcorn as I made my way into the rink. Back then, smoking was a popular, and now we know bad habit, so it’s no surprise that the skating rink was full of adults enjoying a cigarette while their kids skated the night away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you\u2019d make your way into the atrium of the old skating rink, you\u2019d be greeted by a front desk\/concession stand worker asking for your size of skate. Unless, of course, you had your own roller skates; in that case, you would go straight to the carpeted, fuzzy benches and lace up your own skates. Lacing skates was always a challenge, and making sure you tied them tight enough so they wouldn\u2019t come loose as you skated and potentially cause a pile-up of skaters tripping over one another was always tricky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fallsview
John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972-2008), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Old Skating Rink Games<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of my fondest memories of being at the skating rink is playing those silly yet fun games. You know, the ones you didn\u2019t want to be caught playing at your sister\u2019s birthday party, but everyone lined up for with their skates on at the rink. Some of these games included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n