Crystal Springs Roller Rink

If Walter T. Curtis had his way 66 years ago, the rough-sawed lumber building at the end of Central Avenue would probably be long abandoned, or knocked down.
"He wanted to build a dance hall," Curtis' daughter, Bernice Rooks, says. "But Mama wouldn't okay it. He wanted beer and everything." What sprang up in the compromise was a roller-skating rink. Curtis sawed the timber himself and had the place built in the fall of 1939. Large windows with heavy shutters and no screens lined the pine walls. An ancient Michigan cash register held money behind the counter. A tin roof provided cover in the thick stand of oaks, just steps from the banks of the Hillsborough River, between Plant City and Zephyrhills. Children, teenagers and adults glided around the floor, popular music floating through the air. That was Crystal Springs Roller Rink then, and now.

"There ain't nothin' new around here much," says Truman Rooks, the 74-year-old proprietor, Curtis' son-in-law and Bernice's husband. Mr. Rooks, as he is called by young and old who cross the threshold, is the soul of this place now. A living symbol of Old Florida, he paces around quietly, a ball cap perched high on his balding head. He speaks with purpose, using his gravelly voice to great effect. Over the crackling public address system, Mr. Rooks scolds kids when they skate too fast or huddle too closely in the dark corners. His words are indecipherable in the din, but offenders know to quickly shape up. His other weapon is an oversized flashlight of shiny silver, the most modern-looking thing in the building. He shines it on unruly skaters.
"It's like a highway patrol," Rooks says with a grin. "I done got 'em clocked." But for all his toughness with the kids, they are the reason he turns on the lights and the music for two hours every Friday and Saturday night. He pats them on the head and knows their names - and their parents' names. He's not a cozy Santa Claus figure, just a man who has been in one place long enough to know its people. "These kids around here ain't got a lot of money," Rooks says. "I keep it open for them to have somewhere to go." In quiet Crystal Springs, there are plenty of churches and shady places to sit and look at the river. But no movie theaters, no malls. Its only other recreation landmark is closed to the public: The springs where people swam and picnicked for generations is the source of Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water and site of a private nature preserve. Walter Curtis ran the springs for years. It's where Truman and Bernice first met, in 1947. Curtis had a dream of owning the springs - and even acquired the $8,000 to buy it - but the deal never came together and he turned his attention to other pursuits. When the rink opened, the cost to skate was 35 cents. Now the price is up to $3. You can bring your own skates - inline or otherwise - or you can use a pair of the soft suede skates with orange wheels kept in every size on the shelves. Either way, it's $3. "One little girl didn't have but $2.80," Rooks confides. "We let her in." Sodas and candy bars are 75 cents. Throughout the night, kids roll up to the weathered counter, crashing into it with a thud, and slap down a dollar or three quarters and blurt their orders. "Sunkist!"
"Butterfinger!" Rooks or his daughter takes the money. The old brass register is still there, but the drawer just sits open, the coins held in change purses. Every transaction is recorded on a white legal pad. Out on the rink - smooth as glass, made of Tennessee maple - 30 or 40 kids whiz by again and again. The little, wobbly ones cling to a rope strung through the middle of the room. The older ones stick to the outside lanes, trying to achieve speed records on inline skates. Mostly country music blares through the speakers, because that's what Mr. Rooks likes. The CDs have taken the place of waltzes played on 78-rpm records. In the parking lot there might not be a single car. Parents drop off their kids, taking advantage of the inexpensive babysitting. No one loiters. Mr. Rooks won't have it. He peers out the open window every few minutes, looking something like a cattle farmer searching for wanderers. "I don't allow nobody in the parking lot," he says. "They're supposed to be inside." Simply put, if they come, they come to skate. "That's right," Rooks says, winking. "That's right." Like her mother before her, Megan Ames comes to the rink just about every weekend. She brings her inline skates and socializes with friends. She wishes she could hear pop music instead of so much country, but that's her only complaint. Even at 12, she thinks the $3 admission is a good deal. "It's a good dating place and a good hangout place," she says.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Crystal
• Springs
• Roller
• Rink
• Pasco
• County
• Florida

[blazy12]

why is this vid on youtube.................wtf

[Legend813a]

Ahh, because I put it here.

Its the rink itself, see it was built a very long time ago, and not much has changed.

You will learn about the rink if only you would click the "About this video" link to the right of the player.

[forthegirlz2]

i hate that place even though i live close i still hate it P.S. -THIS IS WHERE I LEARNED TO SKATE WITH A PERSON I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!

[Justfla]

I love this rollar rink. This is where I learned to skate and have shared many birthday parties with friends and those friends have grown up and since had kids and now we have kids who are learning to skate the same floor where I learned to skate.

[davidbeethoven17]

my first date was there.lol,her aunt and uncle owns that place or something like that

[davidbeethoven17]

my first date was there.lol

[schikabee788]

I love this place as a kid! It's all we had...and i'm glad it's still here!

[Dizzles]

pretty neat rink. much bigger than the old car dealership that mine was made out of lol

[xbleedingxcitiesx]

cool video.Skating is fun :D

[symone3030]

I skated here  when I was in Junior High-mid 80s. Love the swamp atmosphere.

[blazy12]

thx..

[PrettyBizzar33]

aww haha, THE KID FELL! :)