ROUND LAKE – There was a consensus met by many of the people who skated at the Round Lake Roller Rink on Jan. 22.

Once the rink closed the very next night, they didn’t know where they would go.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” 16-year-old Marissa YoungBerg said through tears. “I thought this day was never going to come.”

YoungBerg’s parents, Vall and Debbi, ran the roller rink for nearly the past decade, but were forced to close once they found they wouldn’t be able to receive a loan modification from a local bank. The rink was put up for foreclosure, and Jan. 23 was the last night skaters circled the old wooden floor.

"To them, [based on] all the e-mails we're getting, it's just kind of a historical landmark and a safeheaven, a good place for kids to come and vent and skate and get away from any problems they need to deal with," Debbi YoungBerg said of the kids who frequent the rink. "Everyone is pretty upset about it, kind of shocked about it, but I think they understand it."

Failing economy
Vall YoungBerg said that the tough economy made it more difficult for youngsters to get money from their parents to go roller skating. The YoungBergs had tried to compensate by offering $1 Tuesday skate nights, but business didn't improve much.

As the economy gradually grew stronger, the rink saw renewed interest, Vall YoungBerg said. But it was too little, too late.

Vall YoungBerg even tried to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to save the rink. His claim was thrown out of court.

And so the couple had to close a business that had served as a hang out spot for both of them when they were younger; a business that had been open in various capacities since 1918 – surviving the Great Depression, Vall YoungBerg pointed out.

A hand-written letter was set in front of the entrance to the rink for skaters to read as they came for one last skate. The same letter was posted to the rink’s Web site.

"We could never write the perfect goodbye letter to all of you," the note read. "With that being said, it's goodbye for now but certainly not forever. Keep rolling, keep smiling and be happy."

More than a rink
For many Round Lake area residents, the Round Lake Roller Rink was much more than a rink. It was a place for the self-proclaimed "rink rats" to escape from everyday troubles.

Brian Hughes, 23, was a regular rink patron from sixth grade on, the Round Lake resident said. He worked for the YoungBergs for several years, and had his 3-month-old son, Tyler, with him the Friday before the rink closed.

The roller rink certainly had an impact on his life, Hughes said.

“I definitely would have gotten in trouble [without the rink],” Hughes said. “Vall and Debbi showed me a lot of discipline when I was younger.”

Amy McKenna of Round Lake had similar feelings. She came to the rink from the time she was 3-years-old. The now-33-year-old brings her own children to the rink.

“I think Deb and Vall have been great for the kids here,” McKenna said. “It got them away from whatever they were dealing with.”

Vall YoungBerg said the rink had helped him turn his life around when he was younger, and that he tried to be a role model for the kids who frequented the rink now.

“It makes you want to change as a person to be positive,” Vall YoungBerg said of atmosphere found at the rink. “When I was a kid, I never had positive role models to help me get through ... but this place, the people you meet are constantly fun-loving people.

He and his wife tried to continue that positive aura of the place as owners, Debbi YoungBerg said.

“You don’t own a roller rink to make money,” Debbi YoungBerg said. “You do it because it’s your heart. When you have kids here day in and day out, you get to know them. Sometimes those kids vent to you, and you listen to them. A lot of them come here for reassurance and just love."

"But we make them get good grades," she continued. "We have seven kids right now that I can count that were failing all their classes. And we kind of took them in and told them, well ...  if you do this, we'll give you a pizza of your choice. Or if you do this, we'll let you work behind the skate counter. They love the motivation. They bring us their report card, and they're so proud and we are too. We post them on board ... And they're getting As now."

Looking ahead
Many of the people who walked through the doors of the Round Lake Roller Rink for the last time had similar feelings toward its closing.

“[It’s] heartbreaking,” McKenna said. “My parents met here, my husband and I met here – we can skate anywhere, but this is the Round Lake Roller Rink.”

“It tears me up inside,” said 25-year-old Nate Notariano of Round Lake. “It gets you emotional ... I’ve been here 20 years. That’s basically my life. It’s hard to see where it’s going now.”

Vall YoungBerg said he had plans to try to resurrect the Round Lake Roller Rink by finding sponsors or partners who could help him fund the place.

His young customers – and friends – hope he can find a way to bring the rink back.

“If you take this away, we won’t be able to do nothin’,” said 15-year-old Rajneish Poyser of Round Lake. “Does anyone even go to the movies any more? ... I’m a rink rat. We love this place.”

“There ain’t gonna be nothin’ for these kids to do,” Notariano said. “They won’t have no where to go. They have their pants to their knees [here], but they’re here having fun.”

If anything, many regulars of the rink are already nostalgic for the memories that could have been.
"I've got a 9-month-old daughter I started bringing here," said Sean Hughes, 24, of Round Lake. "It's a whole new generation we could have brought up here. It's too bad."

Still, they remain hopeful.

“It’ll be back,” Brian Hughes said.