Skateland – Memphis Flyer

Mr. Lauderdale with his “bicycle” skates

On the April edition of WKNO’s fine program, Southern Routes, I journey back to the glory days of Skateland, Skatehaven, Rainbow Lake, and many of the other roller-skating palaces that were hugely popular with Memphians in the early to mid-1900s.

Not to give too much away, but back in those days, there was a whole lot more to roller-skating than just strapping on some skates and rolling around a wooden track. Rinks put on pageants, plays, races — even full-scale weddings. And skating wasn’t just for ma, pa, teens, and the little kiddies. They made special skates for dogs, monkeys, and even BEARS.

The show will even feature rare photos of me (such as the one here), taken in my younger days, when I was a veritable Flash at rinks around the Mid-South. Why, it took servants almost a day just to polish all the trophies I earned. Or were those bowling trophies? I can’t remember, since the Lauderdales were pretty much good at everything.

Tune into Southern Routes or you’ll be very sorry (and so will I). The show will air Thursday, April 8th at 8 p.m., and then it will repeat on Saturday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m., and again on Sunday, April 11 at 12 noon. It also airs on WKNO-2 Saturday, April 10 at 9 p.m., so I really don’t want to hear any pitiful excuses about, “Uh, I missed it.”

And I’ll be quite candid with you. Either watch the show, and admire the hard work done by my WKNO pals Kip Cole and Bonnie Kourvelas, or face the dire prospect of being cut out of my will. It’s that simple.

Memphis had other roller-skating rinks before this one — Rainbow Lake and East End come to mind — but none of them had the visual impact of Skateland. And I’m talking about the original building, when it was located on the north side of Summer Avenue.

Drivers on Summer could hardly miss the clean lines of the massive building just east of Mendenhall, with a facade of rough stone that framed a wall of glass panels. “SKATELAND” was spelled out in red neon along the roof, and three winged shoes — complete with spinning neon wheels — provided a crowning touch. Anyone still not clear about what went on there could also read, in giant red neon letters, “Roller Skate for Health.”

Inside, sweeping trusses of laminated wood supported a high wooden dome that arched over one of the largest rinks in town. A neon signboard mounted on the back wall gave skaters their instructions: “All Skate,” “Trios,” “Reverse,” “Grand March,” and when the session came to an end, “Skates Off.”