Elliott's Roller Rink is page out of the '40s

Apr 22, 2008, 11:04

By Emily Jarrett

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- From the outside, Elliott’s Roller Rink doesn’t look like the landmark Warrensburg attraction it used to be; it looks a bit tired. But once inside, skaters are transported back to the late 1940s, when the rink sat on the edge of town and was the place to be on a Friday night.

The red, white and blue paint is new, but the hardwood floors are original and racks of skates still hang from the ceiling behind the front desk.
Original owners, Mom and Pop White, built the rink in 1947.

“Back then, the Whites owned another skating rink in Boonville,” said current owner, Donna Elliott. “It was expensive to build the hardwood floors, so they sectioned them off and moved (the floors) between the two buildings.”
Elliott said the Boonville rink would open during the winter because it had heat, while the Warrensburg rink was open during the summer.

“They didn’t have air conditioning then, so when they built the rink, they installed windows that roll up to catch a breeze,” she said.

“I’ve been skating at the rink since around 1949, when I was in high school,” said Harland Osborne. “Back then, it was very popular to roller skate. We used to have dance skating and competitions; people used to drive all the way to Kansas City for dance skate lessons.”

Donna and Larry Elliott are the current owners of the skating rink originally built in the 1940s. (Photo by Emily Jarrett)

Osborne now works at Elliott’s as a skate guard. Every Friday night, he can be seen skating around the rink, keeping an eye on the skaters.

“I enjoy working there now,” he said. “I have a lot of fond memories of the rink.”

Although the rink has changed owners over the years, the Elliotts say it’s always been a family business.

“The Whites sold it to the Parsons and they sold it to the Lunds,” Elliott said. “But it hasn’t really changed much over the years; it’s still a family-owned business and has a family-friendly atmosphere.”

The Elliotts rent the rink from Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare, which bought the building in 1999, “They wanted to tear it down and build an access road to a new group home,” Elliott said. “But that didn’t happen, so we talked to them about renting it. Our daughters grew up skating here and we thought the community needed a place for kids to go.”

Families, elementary and middle school kids make up a typical Friday night crowd, Larry Elliott said. They can have as many as 200 skaters, or as few as 50.

“Two years ago, we had 150 skaters almost every Friday night, but now our numbers are down,” he said. “You never know how your season will go; some years, it’s good; some years, we struggle.”

“This is the last business I thought I’d be in,” said Elliott. “But I really enjoy working here, meeting new people and making new friends. It feels great when someone says they had a good time skating here or if someone tells a story about how they used to skate here when they were young.”

“Skating keeps you young,” Osborne said. “Instead of sitting on the couch, getting gray, I’d rather be out skating.”

Elliott’s Roller Rink, located at 616 Burkarth Rd., is open from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and is available for private skating parties. Call 747-2445 or 747-8387.