Scope and ContentRoller Skating at the Big Pavilion by Jeanne Hallgren --- Roller skating at the Big Pavilion in Saugatuck was "the thing to do" back in the late 1940s. A group of us from Glenn would always head that way at least one night each weekend, when the rink was open, which was in the spring and fall. Saugatuck was a very quiet little town. We never saw anyone on the streets and often joked that they rolled the streets up on Labor Day and kept them that way until summer came around again. As we rounded the curve on Water Street, the big, brightly-lit, round-roofed building came into view. Many lights adorned the building, on the sides as well as the front and back. Their glow reflected in the Kalamazoo River and danced on the ripples in the water. It was a picture of peace and tranquility. With skate case in hand we would arrive at the Big Pavilion to the strains of the live organ music that drifted over the sleepy town. Joe Gerkin was at the organ for several years and later the music came from records. Gerrie Staley worked the ticket window. We paid our admission and stepped inside where everything was abuzz with the music, the whir of the skaters as they rounded the floor, and the happy laughter and conversation of friends who hadn't seen each other since the last time. Mrs. Wilson was the ticket taker. She didn't smile too much and always wore a fur jacket, even if the night air was on the warm side. Once inside we were amazed at how large the interior was. Large shuttered windows were at the sides and the back. On warm nights these shutters were open making the room seem even larger. We could stand at the windows and look out at the river. The organ music echoed off the water and created an atmosphere that was unequaled at any other rink. Almost everyone owned their own skates, white ones for the girls with big pompoms and black ones for the boys. If you didn't have your own skates, they could be rented from Jerry Little or Jim Wilson, who manned the skate rental booth. We immediately set about getting our skates on and if a boyfriend had come along he would graciously take on the duty of helping his girlfriend with her skates. Then we would go out onto the floor and be swept away with the crowd. The music immediately put you into a swaying motion. Those first few times that I went to the Big Pavilion to skate were learning experiences. A first time skater always started out close to the railing and then when the rail ran out one would very cautiously make her way to the wall on the opposite side and slowly scoot around with the right hand always ready to reach out to the wall for safety. Placing one foot over the other to turn those corners was pretty tricky and sometimes a little scary. I had one friend whose left foot never left the floor. He pushed and steered with his right foot and went round and round the rink with the rest of us. The more experienced skaters sometimes lacked patience with the beginners. More than once I took a fall after becoming tangled up with faster skaters. Taking a fall was always a bit embarrassing. No matter how hard the tumble we always got up as quickly as we could with a "that didn't hurt" expression on our faces. I pursued and it wasn't long before I felt sure enough of myself to pick up a little speed. There were always a few boys who came there just to be rowdy. They would speed around the floor, chasing each other and cutting in and out of the skaters, putting everyone they encountered in jeopardy. Bob Kobernik, Jack Wilson and Bud Whipple were the "skate guards" who tried to keep these guys in check. In those days our skates all had wooden wheels with ball bearings to help them roll. If a loose wheel flew off, ball bearings would roll all over the floor. If anyone rolled into one they were sure to fall, so when a wheel came loose the word would spread across the floor like a fire alarm. There was a crack in the floor at the third turn and a friend of mine always said the crack was caused by me taking a fall there one night. Going to the Ladies Room was even trickier. It was located on the lower level and going down the series of stairs with skates on required concentration. The steps weren't more than eight or ten inches wide, not wide enough to accommodate the length of a roller skate, so you had to place your foot sideways to avoid having it roll out from under you. There were many who made it down the stairs by going backwards, clinging dearly to the handrail. Once you got there you had to complete the mission, hoping that you wouldn't roll out of the stall before you were ready. Roller skating made us thirsty and the only thing available to drink were Cokes. Julia Dieke ran the concession and made the sweetest, most syrupy Cokes that I have tasted. Needless to say one of those did little to quench one's thirst. But the concession stand was a good place for those kids who weren't really "into" skating to hang out. Some of the skaters stirred up feelings of envy in many of us. I remember an older gentleman who always skated backwards. He was so graceful, hands behind his back and swaying to the music. He kept more to the center of the floor. As I think back on it now, he probably wasn't as old as I thought he was at the time. To keep the evening interesting the management would post a sign at the beginning of each number "All Skate," "Couples Only," "Girls Only" and the one that I never took part in -- "Reverse Skate," where everyone was supposed to skate backwards, a feat that challenged my natural abilities. It was like a right-handed person becoming a lefty. "All Skate" was probably my favorite, a total learning experience for me, I just kept rolling along. Skating at the Big Pavilion began in the springtime with Tulip Time weekend and ran until July. During the summer the skating rink would become a dance floor. When the summer was over and the Labor Day weekend past, they would roll up the streets again and skating would return to the Pavilion and continue until it became too cold. In 1994 when the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society opened an exhibit about the Big Pavilion in their museum in the old pump house, at the foot of Mt. Baldhead, my roller skates were part of the exhibit that summer. A fitting place, I think, for them to spend the rest of their days. Just the mention of roller skating at the Big Pavilion brings back many warm memories to everyone who ever "rolled around the floor" to the strains of Joe Gerkin at the organ. No other skating rink was ever quite the same.