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Roller Rink
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An old concrete slab
on the former Willows fairgrounds served as a community roller rink in the late 1940s and early 1950s |
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Clamp-on Roller Skates
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One size fits all: one end of the key was used
to adjust the length of the skate; the other end was used to tighten the clamp on the sole of the shoe. |
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After the exhibition buildings were gone by the late 1940s, a concrete slab remained about where Haultain meets Eastdowne.
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This was the foundation of the Industrial building. As this foundation didn’t impede planned roadwork, it sat on the landscape for several years and became a community roller rink from the late 1940s through the early 1950s.
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PHOTOGRAPHS
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We are looking for a photo
of the old concrete-slab roller rink |
Do you have any photos of the old roller rink?
If yes, please specify in the form below
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ARTIFACTS
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Do you have any artifacts related to the old roller rink?
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, ETC
If yes, please share them by using the form below
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RECOLLECTIONS
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Recollections may be abridged for length and/or clarity
| In 1946 our family moved to Fair Street, directly across from a concrete foundation of the old Willows Fairgrounds building. Our dad, Stonewall Jackson, salvaged the windows from the building to enclose our back porch. The foundation was a very popular roller skating rink until it was demolished. |
| — Stanny Jackson, OBHS class of 1962 |
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| After the rink closed and was to be demolished our father, Stonewall, got permission to remove some of the slab sections and built the sidewalk at our home with them at 2173 Fair Street. I don't know if they're still there but if so, I doubt the current owners are aware of the history of the patch work sidewalk down the side of the house. |
| Just a little history of how some of the roller rink survived. |
| — Derek Jackson |
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| We spent countless hours in the early 1950s wearing out roller-skate wheels playing roller hockey on this slab. We particularly liked playing after it rained because we could slide sideways, like on ice. About the time the slab was torn up (in preparation for the the extension of Haultain Street to connect with Eastdowne Road), the asphalt had been laid for the tennis courts at Carnarvon Park. This asphalt surface became our new roller rink up to the time the tennis nets were installed. After that, we sometimes played roller hockey in the lacrosse box, another asphalt surface. But skating on asphalt was hard work compared to gliding across the old concrete slab. |
| (Incidentally, the two original basketball hoops at Carnarvon Park were located at the west side of the tennis courts, inside the tennis enclosure. They were there for only a short time before they were re-located to the east side of the tennis courts, outside the enclosure, where they remained for many years. But the concrete footings for the two original hoops remain to this day just outside the enclosure, alongside the parking area. I'm sure people wonder what these structures are! ) |
| The old concrete slab was just one of the many joys the vacated fairgrounds offered before it was subdivided, starting about 1953. see The Baseball Diamond, Frog Ponds |
| — Gary Wilcox, OBHS class of 1960 |
Do you have any recollections of the old roller rink?
If yes, please share them by using the form below
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SUBMISSIONS
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Do you have any
photos, artifacts or recollections of the old roller rink? |
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PLEASE CONTACT US Your contribution may become part of Oak Bay history! |
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You can email us, with attachments if available |
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OR
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You can use the Online Submission Form, below
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Thank You!
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A CENTENNIAL LEGACY PROJECT