“Don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.”
Hair metal group Cinderella had a huge hit back in 1988 with a song title of those very words. Many Ohio Valley residents likely felt those lyrics deep inside when they watched the old skating rink on Wheeling Island go up in flames.
The center had closed years prior, but the memories seemed to go up in smoke along with the proper. That was back in 2019. St. Clairsville’s popular skate center had long since closed and been repurposed.
The last bastion of roller skating along the Ohio River, the Roller Derby in Moundsville, closed its doors in 2021. A group is attempting to reopen the derby, but as of yet, it remains closed.
That left nostalgia as the remaining option of public roller skating, either that or buying a pair outright and braving the pothole-riddled roadways of many area streets.
That is until Martins Ferry decided to bring it back in June when a soft opening of a new facility for skating was held at the city’s rec center. Mayor John Davies admitted then he was getting a feel for the interest level initially. It went over well.
Skating took a brief hiatus but made a triumphant return on Sunday, January 22, and every Sunday thereafter. Safe to say word got out and more than a few area residents, both from the Purple City and from beyond, took advantage.
“We had probably close to 200 people (last Sunday),” Davies admitted. “We went through 192 pieces of pizza. We ran out of drinks.”
The best part is that was all free of charge and has been since the start. This Sunday, skating will be held from 2:15-4:30 p.m. The skating, plus the refreshments, will be free again.
Donations are helping keep the refreshments free. United Dairy has donated drinks. This Sunday, DeFelice Brothers Pizza is providing six large pizzas. It seems there’s no shortage of help.
“A lot of people have been donating their time which has allowed to keep it free, or relatively cheap,” Davies said. “I hate to even have to charge a dollar, but we’ll have to start fixing skates, and purchase more equipment.”
Free No More?
After this Sunday, skating will take a one-week break as the rec center is rented out. But, it will soon return. Davies said the center will eventually have to start charging to keep up with costs.
But how much? Something astronomical? No. More like, a buck.
“I would say in the near future we’ll probably charge a dollar per person to get in,” Davies said. “We’re going to keep it as cheap as we can. We have sponsors providing pizza, drinks, and hot dogs right now, but that won’t last forever.
“If we charge a buck a person, we can recover the cost of all of the snacks and still be able to keep that free. We’ll continue it as long as we can.”
When the idea to open the skate center came about, the city purchased a lot of the old equipment used at the Roller Derby in Moundsville. It provided a good bit of stock right from the start.
But the equipment needs repairing, and more needs to be purchased.
“We bought all the skates from the Moundsville rink, but some need repairing now and we don’t have enough for certain youth sizes, so we’ll have to buy skates and they are pretty pricey,” Davies said. “We’re going to try to recoup a little bit of the money and expand onto better things, new skates, keep adding snacks and more lighting for atmosphere.”
More events are on the way. From teen dances, adults-only skates, cornhole tournaments, and Zumba classes, the rec center’s usage is greatly increasing.
Davies noted that they’ve been unable thus far to find a Zumba instructor, but the facilities recently purchased 75-inch TV can stream classes sans an in-person instructor.
There’s also a crochet class being held on February 18 from 10-11 a.m. Melissa Finney is running that and interested parties, of which there are many according to the Mayor, can still sign up by calling Finney at (740) 232-5728.
Setting the Example
Davies is doing what he can to improve the lives of the citizens of both Martins Ferry and beyond. He freely admits he receives plenty of help from fellow city employees and community members who are ready and willing to answer the call when asked.
Most don’t even need to be asked. There’s even a talented artist at the high school willing to donate her time to teach an art class at the center.
With all that’s being done in Martins Ferry, Davies is unintentionally setting an example for city leadership across the Ohio Valley in how to provide for and engage with their citizenry.
“I think that your leaders of these communities need to offer something to their patrons,” Davies said. “The youth are really important. They will be the leaders of the communities. We try to do a lot for them, as well as the elderly because they are the ones who built the rec center, the community.”
Davies isn’t looking to compete with other towns but thinks leadership from surrounding communities can get together, work to leverage the different resources that each community has, and put its best collective foot forward.
Bellaire or St. Clairsville may have resources that Ferry doesn’t, and vice versa. He feels if the towns can work together, they can offer quite a bit. He knows money can be an issue, but working together could be advantageous in that regard too.
“My hope is other communities—if they can afford it because I know money is tight everywhere,” Davies said. “But we could have a get-together of mayors and leaders, and see what everyone wants to do and can offer. There are a lot of different venues and we can figure out what the different towns want to offer.”
Davies and Ferry aren’t out to compete or outdo another community. If say St. Clairsville, or Bellaire, wanted to offer a specific activity or event, then Ferry could go in an opposite direction so there aren’t competing events, but complementary ones.
It benefits not only the residents but the businesses in town. It’s certainly helped Ferry as it’s not just Purple residents enjoying the skating or various events put on both at the rec center and throughout town.
“This is a valley-wide thing, not just for Martins Ferry. We have a lot of people, people from Barnesville, St. C., Wheeling, and Rayland coming down. We have a couple from Adena.
“We’re getting people from all over, which is great. That’s what we want.”
