Skateland
So on my last trip to Corinth, it hit me that after all the other pictures and stories about that awesome town and all of its memorable spots, I'd forgotten about one key place: Skateland.
Obviously, the picture above indicates that the name has changed. I'm not sure when that happened, but I can tell you that I'm fairly certain it's not the place it used to be "back in the day." I can't remember exactly when Skateland opened in Corinth, but I want to say it was sometime in the mid to late 70's. No matter what the occasion, Skateland was the best venue in the area. When I think back on my first few times there, visions of feathered butt-cut hair-do's come to mind. And let's not forget about the infamous "comb in the back pocket." Regardless of what kind of person you were or what kind of hair-do you had, the cool thing was to have a comb in your back pocket. I distinctly recall people skating around the place with combs in their back pockets. Of course, if you fell, you always ran the risk of landing on your butt and breaking that prized possession. I guess it was worth it, though, because those things were everywhere. Pink, blue, yellow...the handles visible in the back pockets of everyone...
Skateland was also the place to have birthday parties. Up until Jr. High, almost every kid had his or her birthday party at Skateland. As you walked in the place, the consession stand and tables for eating were to the right, and that's where the actual party took place. There were arcade games along the wall in that area, too....Missle Command, Defender, and of course, Pac Man. To the left as you walked in, was the DJ booth, and on the other side of that was the area where you rented your skates. And speaking of skates....
The roller skates you wore were a major fashion statement, as well as a measure of your coolness. The expert skaters would never have "rented" their skates. Oh, no. Rentals were for the amateurs. The skilled "cool" skaters brought their own skates...you know, the ones with the clear wheels or the yellow neon wheels. The girls had white ones with big puff balls on the laces. The fancier the skates, the better the skater. Which is another reason I was a "renter." This was always a pain in the butt for me because my feet were so big...I could rarely find a pair of skates that fit me. Those ugly brown skates with the big orange bumper on the toes...man, they were ugly. But I had no choice....I was a horrible skater, so I couldn't justify having the cool skates.
At these parties, as well as on Saturday afternoons, there would be different kinds of "skates." Not skates as in "roller skates," but skates as in "types of skating." There was the "Snowball Skate" where the boys lined the wall on one end of the rink, and the girls lined the wall at the other end of the rink. A slow song like "Open Arms" by Journey would come on, and the boys would skate to the other end and ask a girl to skate with him. This was always a major drama catastrophy because there would always be one or two girls left after all the guys had chosen their girls. So the ones that were left would sob and totally play the "poor me" card. It was hilarious....and it was usually the same girls every time. Can you imagine?! Then there were the show-off's. Guys like Corey Battles and Michael Brewer who could do all the tricks like skating backwards, jumping stuff, and all that. The girls thought they were the coolest because of their superior skating skills. There was also usually a guy who would act like he crashed into a wall or bench or something and wait for all the girls to rush over to him to make sure he was alright. Michael Nash was pretty good at doing that....
Nothing beat the songs that we usually skated to. Songs like "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen, "Double Dutch Bust" by the Sugar Hill Gang, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, anything by Journey, ABBA, the Bee Gees....every time I hear one of those songs, it immediately takes me back to the good ol' Skateland days.
Anyway, just thought I'd share some memories of good ol' Skateland. If any of you out there remember some things that I've forgotten, just drop me a line and let me know, and I'll post a follow-up story. Skateland stories are too good to not be shared with the rest of the world!!!
