Sept./Oct. 2003
HOOVER SKATE ARENADayton, OhioMORE THAN HALF A CENTURY OF SUCCESS When it comes to the history of Black owned skating rinks, it appears there are no records to show just what rink can claim to be the first. In Ohio, however, the owners of Hoover Skate Arena are quite confident that their rink deserves that honored title. Hoover opened in the post World War II era and in the same year that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to become the first Black to play Major League Baseball. That year, 1947, was when Estella and Mark Mayo opened a 7500 square foot facility, on McCall Street, in the city of Dayton. The rink was an instant success because back then there were not many social outlets and once word of the rink spread, people would come from miles away to enjoy themselves at Hoover. The rink has always served a predominantly Black clientele because of the large population in Dayton and surrounding cities like Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis and because they are near two historically Black colleges. That original rink remained open until 1964 when it was moved to a new location on Hoover Avenue. This move was also the transition of rink management to the Mayo’s daughter Juanita Barnett, her husband, George and nephew Harry Mayo Jr. Today the rink remains a family operation run by Juanita and Harry. TREAT THE LADIES RIGHT Over the years they have kept the spirit and legacy of Mark Mayo alive and well. Harry recalls his grandfather’s admonition to always make sure women were treated properly to ensure business success. “One thing I can say we have learned over the years has been that the same philosophy my grandfather started out with in 1947 still rings true today, make sure the women are treated with respect and the men will always follow.” Hoover is extremely dedicated to following this instruction as demonstrated by the fact that extra steps are taken to ensure the safety and security of all who come to skate, but particularly the women. Harry estimates that 85% of his female skaters come to the rink by themselves and from the time they enter the parking lot until they leave it, there is someone on security detail to guarantee their safety. Hoover is very proud to say they have few problems with security or incidents happening to their customers. Another way Hoover caters to the ladies is by the rink's policy of allowing a mother to bring her child to any skating session she attends. The child is not allowed to skate at adult sessions but since many mothers are very particular about not wanting to leave their children with just anybody, Hoover strives to accommodate those who prefer to keep their children near them. It's another reflection of the philosophy that the more women you can bring to the rink, the more men you will bring along with them since most men have no interest in skating at a rink full of other men. THE PLACE FOR ADULT SKATERS Hoover has always catered to a mature skaters and only recently began allowing 21 year olds into their adult sessions. Harry and Juanita have avoided trying to attract skaters in the 10-20 age bracket because they feel their rink is not properly set up to handle today's younger market of teen skaters who are much different from the teens of years ago. They have still found much success over the years even without a customer base that included children and teens. The number of adult skaters coming to their sessions grew so much that, in 1970, they decided to build a new facility that was more than twice the size of their previous one. Their audience was so large because the popularity of skating had greatly increased and more and more adults were taking part in the sport. In an effort to provide a more comfortable setting for the number of skaters they were getting in the 70s, Harry and Juanita moved to a new 20,000 square foot facility, but unfortunately, the rink only lasted two years. “We made a fundamental mistake, the biggest mistake we've made in the 55 odd years we've been in the skating rink business.” Harry said. “We put down the wrong floor and it was a huge disaster - it never, ever was right.” They had decided to go with a floor that was vinyl tile and cement because that was more cost effective than laying a wood floor, but that ended up being a decision they still regret today. The building was eventually used to house another family business while the rink was moved back to the wooden floored facility on Hoover Avenue where it is still located today. Apart from the floor tragedy, the biggest challenge Hoover has faced and continues to face is how to find the right mix of music to please the skate crowd. MUSIC SELECTION - THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE When Hoover opened in the 40s, there were no Black radio stations or music outlets in Ohio and the primary outlet for such music was Randy’s Records in Nashville Tennessee, where Harry's father used to drive every month to pick out music for the rink. Hoover always played recorded R&B music instead of the organ music popular at many other rinks in those days. A decade later, in 1956, the Mayos branched out to open a rink in Cincinnati run by Harry's aunt, Cleo Mayo Johnson. Johnson's Roller Rink remained open for 20 years, closing in 1976. Harry remembers visiting that rink as a child in the 50s and noticing the marked difference in Cincinnati and Dayton skate styles especially after Motown music came out in the 60s. “Motown obviously created a whole new energy level in skating rinks so you saw that change the skating style...When Hoover came about, you got into a different skating style and with the rink in Cincinnati I remember vividly the different musical tastes and energy levels...Cincinnati skated 50% faster than Dayton and even today, 2003, there are certain musical tastes for Cincinnati that are drastically different from Dayton. Songs we know could play in Cincinnati, they don’t fly in Dayton,” Harry explained. Pleasing his home crowd is still one of his biggest challenges because it’s very difficult to please 200 skaters, in one night, who have different musical tastes and range in age from 21 - 50+. Hoover will play just about anything skaters want to hear but they do draw the line when it comes to playing raunchy, x-rated material. Harry puts a lot of thought into music selection for Hoover and has even developed a pattern which is especially followed at the Friday night Midnight Ramble session. “We use a strategy of two up tempo songs, one mid tempo, two slow songs, one mid tempo, then two fast songs...we take you through a journey of even keel energy level.” He likens the music choices to a buffet that provides enough variety to satisfy the majority of skaters. Even with the diversity Hoover provides, it is rare to find new, original up tempo songs that are skatable. Harry estimates that 95% of today's R&B is mid to slow tempo ballads and you can count on one hand the number of original up tempo songs that are recorded. Almost everything else tends to be a remix of an old school song. MIDNIGHT RAMBLE Hoover’s Midnight Ramble attracts the most out of town visitors to the rink and was started back in the 60s. The session name seems to have taken hold in the skate world as a number of rinks in other states also have late night sessions that are called by the same name. Harry does not know which rink is responsible for starting the first Midnight Ramble and thinks that is something that may never be known. It could be like trying to find out who in the restaurant business created the first double burger - which also may never be known. But what is known is that Hoover has a history that appears to go back further than any other Black owned skating rink in the country and they proudly boast of documentation they have dating back to the days of President Harry Truman. RACISM IN THE SKATE WORLD As proud as Harry is of Hoover’s history and longevity, there is one thing about being in the business that greatly disturbs him. He receives numerous calls throughout the year from White rink owners who are looking to sell their rinks because they state the rinks have “gone Black” or they are “getting too many Blacks” coming to their facilities. These rink owners are not aware, when they call, that Hoover is Black owned and operated and sometimes they even use the “N-word” in describing their dilemma to Harry. This causes him to get very upset, but what puzzles him even more is that some of these rinks are being utilized for a number of the National Skate Parties that have become so popular with Black skaters. “It happened right here in Dayton. It amazes me how they could not wait to rent out the skating rink they are not welcome at but because it represented a night for revenue, the owners said ‘come on down’....As you get a lot of these skating parties that travel from city to city, a lot of them are held at rinks that Blacks weren't even welcome at a few years ago. “We tell everybody, we were here when nobody else wanted you and it’s amazing how quickly Blacks forget the very institutions that were available to them in the forties and fifties. People forget history, but we know the history very well,” Harry said. He has never been approached about holding one of these events at his rink and that may be because some skaters think the rink is too small. Harry, however, says large events have been held at Hoover before and that on their opening night there were 1400 people in the rink, some of whom had waited in a line four blocks long just to get in that special night. He doesn't think Hoover is too small to host a large event and finds his floor size to be adequate for the market and customer base that the rink has. Q&A WITH HARRY Q. What sets your rink apart
from others?
Family atmosphere to other people means you can bring your whole family, that's not what we're talking about. Family atmosphere to us means that everybody in the building probably knows you..if you walk in the door, you're a new face, the first thing I'm gonna ask you is where are you from, what kind of song do you want to hear? If today's your birthday, give me your ID and let me verify it, admission is free. If you walk in the door and you just graduated from college, we may announce it..If you walk in the door and you just passed the Bar, we're gonna tell everybody about it and encourage [them] to bring their legal business to you. If this is your birthday, I may give you a clip on your shoulder so you can go around collecting money from all the guys. ..... Family atmosphere for us goes back to what my grandfather embarked on in 1947 - treat the people special, don’t have any drama, we don’t tolerate any mess. If a man or woman disrespects somebody, that's probably the last time they'll do it. When you come here, the one thing we want you to know is that you're not going to deal with any drama, no craziness. You as a parent can drop your kids off at our skating rink and know that when you pick them up there's not going to be any problems......We have never, ever had a whole lot of problems. We try to treat people like they are our family....It’s a cornerstone philosophy of ours. Q. Some skaters say they can sense the history when they skate at Hoover.
What do you think they mean by that?
When you go out and pay your hard earned money to have fun, the last thing you want to deal with is a bunch of drama. People come to our place to have fun, the moment they no longer have fun, they don’t need to come here anymore. The best motto we have is ‘if you can walk out with a smile and sweaty we know we did something right.’ ... If you can't work up a sweat skating, something's wrong and if you're not sweating it seems you didn't like your experience. That's probably what they're referring to. Q. What needs to happen to produce more Black rink owners?
RINK LOCATION/DETAILS Hoover Skate Arena
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