{"id":257,"date":"2025-07-16T18:07:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/?p=257"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:41:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:41:46","slug":"lambeth-working-to-get-rockingham-rink-rolling-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/16\/lambeth-working-to-get-rockingham-rink-rolling-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Lambeth working to get Rockingham rink rolling again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Betty Gallo McIntyre<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many recall the Rockingham skating rink as memories were made while gliding freely around the rink \u2014 momentarily forgetting all the cares of the world. It was the hangout for enjoyment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1900s, the youth skated on sidewalks and roads because, at that time, there was no rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on Labor Day in 1948, the first skating rink was opened in Rockingham by a Charlotte doctor \u2014who also owned one in Kannapolis \u2014 called The Glass Roller Rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was managed by Mr. and Mrs. Black. General admission was 40 cents for adults and 20 cents for children. There was a bowling alley underneath the rink which employed pin boys. Since there were no electronics associated with bowing at that time, the pin boy manually set the pins up and rolled the balls back to each player.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a young age, Harold Hines began working there as a pin setter. Hines owned the rink for 63 years and was the last owner before it closed back in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mary Kate Lambeth had a desire that quickly became reality, purchasing the rink in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCall it crazy or call it led, that\u2019s how this came about,\u201d Lambeth said. \u201cIt was a very quick decision \u2014 we made the decision quick and started on it quick. I wanted to find a way to be creative and serve my community; a place for my kids to be involved and to create jobs for others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lambeth is currently in the process of renovating the rink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a dance teacher for over 20 years and also being creative, Lambeth wanted to give back to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis county needs something to do \u2014 not just for children, but also adults,\u201d Lambeth said. \u201cWe plan to do a whole week of grand opening which will include lots of different events. Part of it will include the art show that\u2019s going to happen with all the skates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On Friday April 11, old skates used in the rink before it closed were sold for $25 each. There were around 200 skates which will be used in a contest: each person will decorate or paint the skate and bring it back by May 16. Votes will be taken the week of the grand opening which is projected to be the second week of June. The winner will be announced at the beginning of the following week. The winning skate will be displayed in a special area of the rink in a locked cabinet. All the other skates will also be displayed throughout the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really prayed for a long time about doing something creative,\u201d Lambeth said about the decision to purchase the rink. \u201cI feel really blessed and thankful right now; it\u2019s a mixture of a lot of emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of people have reached out in the age range from 30-70 who want skate opportunities because those are the ones who grew up skating,\u201d she continued. \u201cWe had several boys out here a couple of weeks ago who helped me clean up. I have three boys and several of them were their friends. A lot of them didn\u2019t know how to skate, and we taught them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lambeth has had numerous people come up to her reminiscing of their past experiences at the skating rink; being a people-person, she loved hearing the stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know a lot of people in Richmond County, but now I\u2019ve met even more,\u201d she said. \u201cThat has fulfilled me in a way that I can\u2019t explain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lambeth said she has a vision for the entire building to be multi-purpose; one being to teach Dance Fit. She is also open for others to come in and teach a class.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe options are endless here for ideas,\u201d Lambeth said. \u201cI have the energy and passion for this community. Just being a part of something to grow this back is amazing, because I love the previous family who owned it. I do all of this with respect to their family, because they owned it for 63 years which is incredible to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When speaking to Hines\u2019 daughter Luanne Diggs, she remembers the love her dad had for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoney didn\u2019t mean anything to him, he wanted every kid to be able to skate if they wanted to and he let many people skate free,\u201d Diggs said. \u201cHe would open on holidays, especially on Christmas, so children would have somewhere to go. For years people would drop their children off knowing they were safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDad raised many children through the years,\u201d Diggs added. \u201cHe loved them all, but his own children \u2026 were his heart\u2026that was until his grandchildren came along. They were his pride and joy; his love for them knew no bounds \u2026 The skating rink was a place of joy for him while serving generations of families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point Hines\u2019 grandson, Joel Layton, ran The Underground which was a teen club below the skating rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt started with some friends that were in a band and needed a place to practice,\u201d Layton recalled. \u201cDuring practice they decided they wanted to build a stage and start doing shows. Matt Leviner did all the booking and promoting for the band which was called Twisted Motive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were reportedly bands from more than 20 states to play at The Underground, including one from California. One of the bands reportedly was signed to a national record label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Twisted Motive,\u201d Layton said, \u201cnone of this would have happened. They helped with everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layton later began helping Hines with running the skating rink and soon after took over due to Hines\u2019 wife being sick and needing him to take care of her.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2006, Layton made the decision to close The Underground in order to focus solely on running the skating rink. He ran the rink until around 2015, and that is when Diggs took it over. She kept the rink open until 2020 when the state forced her to close due to COVID.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bill Bailey recalls the times he spent there.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMe and all the boys in my neighborhood worked as pinsetters in the bowling alley; I was 11 years old. Most of us worked two alleys; they kept us jumping. We got a nickel a game and would spend all of our money on candy and Pepsi. When we weren\u2019t working, we were skating; it was our favorite place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bailey, now 85, continued reminiscing as he spoke about the skating rink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe skates back then didn\u2019t have shoes attached \u2014 they were screw-on skates. You screwed them onto your shoes. \u201cBobby Perkins was the key man, the one who keyed the skates onto the shoes. I remember the next owner having a cookie business in Charlotte; he would give us all cookies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had a spectator section down the left side where the bathrooms are; it ran the entire length of the rink. Carlton Dawkins and his wife were the next owners, and after that Harold Hines purchased the rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDuring Hines\u2019 ownership, he did away with the bowling alley and put a slot-car track in. After that it was a pool room,\u201d Bailey continued. \u201cI won several car races, one which made the newspaper. A couple of years ago, that slot car track was in possession of someone in Cordova.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sherry Edwards, whose parents owned the property before Hines, has fond memories of the rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey had clamp skates for the younger skaters, and the boys working there would measure their feet and fit their shoes for the skates to be attached,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cBirthday parties were also very popular there and were booked way ahead of time. When I was young, we\u2019d have after-school parties at the rink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was no air conditioner, and it would get so hot in there that they would open the top screened sides to allow air to flow through,\u201d Edwards recalled. \u201cPeople from all over Richmond County would come together to skate; it was a really nice thing then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many look back and remember the good times they had at the rink. After five years of being closed, there is much anticipation of the opening of the rink; reminiscing of past memories as well as the expectation of new ones being made with the next generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: Some photos by Betty McIntyre, others are contributed.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Betty Gallo McIntyre Many recall the Rockingham skating rink as memories were made while gliding freely around the rink \u2014 momentarily forgetting all the cares of the world. It was the hangout for enjoyment.\u00a0 In the early 1900s, the youth skated on sidewalks and roads because, at that time, there was no rink.\u00a0 Then on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":498,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions\/498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skatetherocknroll.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}