By Chester Fried

RINKSIDER
24
November-December 2010
Independent Voice of the Industry
ROLLING
By Chester Fried
along
Long-time roller skating enthusiast Chester Fried is the vice president
and a founder of the The National Museum of Roller Skating. We
count on him at the Rinksider to help keep readers current.
of whom were national
champions. Jim skated
with Linda Blair and
loved skating. One notable skater at the rink was
Jim Bray. He was one
of the stars of the movie
Roller Boogie.
Any type of skating will do!
A
s the 2010-11 roller skating season starts, we anticipate a very
good up-swing in attendance
at our rinks. We have everything going
for us. Many media - T.V., movies, the
press - all seem to like skating now.
Roller Derby is the current darling,
plus Jam skating is bringing many skaters back into our rinks. Our hidden gem
is artistic skating. These skaters - be
it figure, dance or free-style - skate
all year. They purchase top of the line
skates from our manufactures. Plus,
artistic skaters stay around and skate
for many years - their staying power
is amazing. And speed skating at the
Winter Olympics featured many former
roller champs winning on the ice.
Our sport has well-rounded events
to keep the interest of the new generation of skaters, and our rink operators
are making their skating centers appealing. Good skating surfaces and good
sound and lighting make for a fun time
rolling around. Best of luck to our rink
operators in the coming year!
Nothing can keep her
down
Rinks are opening up again.
The Caln Rink in Dowingtown, Pa.,
reopened after being closed for five
years. It has a mini golf course in addition to the skating.
In Watertown, NY, the Showtime
rink is opening in the old Hacketts
department store. Best of luck to the
new owner, Fort Drum Sargeant Isaac
Alexis III.
Sarah Gruber of
Cocoa, Fla., is still rolling along at age 84 years
Above is a flier for Eight Wheels No Brakes Jam Skate young. Sarah skates at
Reunion.
Skate Reflections in
LaBriola was quoted as saying, “This
Kissimmee and Semohas been one of the greatest weekends ran Skateway in Cassleberry, Fla. Sarah
of my life.”
was recently released from her local
My local rink, South Amboy Roll- hospital and intends to be back on
ermagic, had a reunion called Eight wheels real soon.
Wheels No Brakes. A very unique name
Over the past few years she has
for this event. This Jam Skate reunion had both hips replaced, a new knee, a
featured skaters from rinks closed not pacemaker and four screws in her lower
so long ago plus some top disc jockeys. back. Nothing can keep her away from
The flyer for the event featured copies her sport; she is amazing.
of old rink stickers I had of these rinks.
Born in June 1926 in Orlando,
And yes, we still have live organ Fla., Sarah started skating at five years
jamborees, featuring top organists. old. She met her husband at a rink and
Sportsman Hall Rink in Upperco, Md.. got married in 1943. When her husband
had Corey Fridinger at the keyboards went overseas during the war Sarah
playing a fast Rockin’ Robin tune. stayed with his parents in Brooklyn,
The session featured an old-fashioned NY. It was during this time that Sarah
Corn Roast. And the Holiday Rink in took lessons at the Park Circle Rink
Delanco, NJ, plans a Jamboree 2010 in Brooklyn with the famous Roland
featuring four top organists. The organ- Cioni. After the war, Sarah went to
ist/keyboard players are Marty Dumic, Panama for a few years and taught skatRalph Brown, Corey Fridinger and ing there.
Johnny Sharp. This is not old-fashioned
I see her once a year at the big
music; it’s up-to-date.
Reunions all around
Ode to the old days!
Reunions are a great way to bring
back former skaters and their families.
The legendary rink operator and skating coach Bob LaBriola ran a large
reunion at his Fountain Valley Skating
Center recently. Over 500 skaters and
their families attended. They came from
all over California and the rest of the
country. Many former National artistic
skating champions skated again - some
had been off skates for years. You never
really forget how to skate! In addition to
former skaters, many former employees
and their families also attended. Many
old friendships were renewed. Bob
Carey Elder is a top skating coach
in New Jersey. He grew up in California and skated at his dad, Jim Elder’s,
rink, The Holiday Skating Center in
Montclair, Calif. Jim recently passed
on at age 89. He served in World War
II and married Marjorie Smith in 1944.
Marjorie died in 2000.
Jim owned the Holiday rink from
1974-84. Carey told me his dad ran his
rink in the Golden Age of skating - the
disco years, where skaters lined up
around his rink to skate to the disco
beat. They had a very large skating
club, employed four skating coaches
and had over 100 club members, some
New rinks open
RinksiderNOV_DEC_10.indd 24
Extravaganza at Skate Reflections.
Johnny Sasala told me, “She is truly a
gift to anyone lucky enough to call her
friend.”
John Durnye keeps rollin’ at 85
John Durnye celebrated his 85th
birthday at his South Amboy Roller
Magic Rink. There were over 330 skaters at a party held in his honor. There
was free food and cake for everyone
in attendance. John entertained everyone by putting on his skates and skating with his daughter, Jean, and son,
Michael. It was the first time he has
skated in many years.
John still has a hand in the business and runs the rink with his daughter
Jean. He also owns the Roller Magic
Rink in Waterbury, Conn., the Jackson
Skating Center in NJ, and the Depew
Skating Center in NY. His son Michael
runs the
Waterbury rink while Joe Enthor
runs the Depew Rink. At one time John
owned seven rinks.
John skated in the early 1940s at
the old America On Wheels Rink in
Perth Amboy, NJ, before he got drafted.
This is where he met his wife, Marie.
He took lessons from the famed Eddie
O’Neil. AOW closed in 1949.
In 1958, John opened his South
Amboy Arena. John also has another
daughter, Ronnie, who lives in Florida
with her husband Barney Johnson. Barney was also a skater, and met Ronnie at
her dad’s South Amboy Rink.
Left to right - Jean, Michael, Ronnie and John Durnye recently celebrated
John's 85th birthday.
10/18/10 5:42:52 PM