Lombard roller rink helps seniors live long, feel good

Between 10 a.m. and noon every Friday, there's a decidedly different vibe to the Lombard Roller Rink.

Sure, balloons and other decorations, aimed at kids, dot the rink. But the music - rock 'n' roll and Motown oldies - is played on an old-time organ.

The skaters complete the picture; they're mostly in their 60s, 70s and 80s. No one younger than 18 is allowed.

Ralph Taylor, 75, of Naperville notices the difference, in a big way.

“Kids come here, they skate once around, sit down and pull their iPhone out and start texting their friends,” he said. “Well, what the Dickens did they come here for? The other problem is if you go into any roller rink now, for the kids' sessions, it's all rap music. It blows my ears out.”

For decades, many of the skaters have been meeting weekly at the rink, 201 W. 22nd St., paying $6 for their sessions.

“It's a release,” said Judy May, a longtime instructor at the rink. “When you come here, it's like going to another planet. “You have to forget the world and all your problems and concentrate on your balance. And then it becomes fun, and it's a relief for your brain.”

Here are the stories of three skaters.

<h3 class="leadin">Donna Sculley, 59, Palatine - 'You don't have to grow up'

Sculley skates to strengthen her mental health.

“It's really important,” she says. “You have to get older, but you don't have to grow up. You should mature, but you should always have fun. I've always worked the fun into my day first, and then I go to work.”

Sculley has been skating since she was 3 years old. She stands out on the rink, moving about with the grace of a figure skater, arm-in-arm with her skate partner, Milan Obradovich of Downers Grove.

“It's a good workout,” Obradovich says. “I originally came here to get exercise and it transitioned into artistic skating. It's hard to do and it takes a lot of practice. Lots and lots of practice.”

In fact, the two practice about 10 hours a week, traveling to rinks in Palatine, Aurora and even Wisconsin in addition to their Friday sessions in Lombard.

“We have about 35 dances memorized that we know how to do together,” Sculley said proudly.

A worn binder filled with dance steps is set near the edge of the rink. Sculley flips through it, her finger tracing the light line the woman follows, then the dark line the man follows. There are names attached to each dance, like Denver Shuffle and Glide Waltz, Karen Lee Tango and Viva Cha Cha.

“That one is fun!” she said, pointing to one of her favorites. “It looks like an amoeba.”

People like Sculley and Obradovich often don't know their potential at first, May said. But now, the duo is among the most admired by other skaters.

“They think, 'Oh, I'm too old for this.' They think that age is a restriction, and I'm older than anybody around here, and age is not a restriction,” she said. “But you have to be patient. You can't be in a rush because you have to build muscle. I tell them, I take you gradually and build your muscles. Muscles build your confidence.”

<h3 class="leadin">Ralph Taylor, 75, Naperville - Skate 'until you die'

At age 25, Taylor was looking for a bride. He found her at the roller rink.

Although injuries have recently taken his wife, Laura, off the rink, the two still skate together. But a lot has changed since they met 50 years ago.

“Dance skating is on a downward trend,” he said. “Roller rinks are disappearing like crazy.”

Taylor has several theories. Part of it, he said, is kids have endless options for extracurricular activities.

A new trend for young skaters, he added, is “jam skating,” which is similar to break dancing but on four wheels. Taylor has tried to convince a few kids it's not the best skating form, but he's had little success.

“I say, 'When you're 65 years old, are you going to be wanting to spin around on your head in the middle of that skating floor?' If you're a dance skater you can keep this up from the time you're 8 or 9 years old until you die.”

Taylor estimates at least 30 Chicago-area roller rinks have closed since the end of World War II. That includes the Elm Rink in Elmhurst, where he met Laura and which was demolished around 1989. That year, the two took a break from skating.

Twenty years later, Taylor jumped back in. Thinking he could do tricks like before, he quickly injured himself, falling over backward and breaking his wrist. That didn't stop him.

Since then, he's fallen in love with competitive dance skating. He has placed at the Great Lakes Regional competition and qualified for the U.S. Nationals.

Two years ago, he fell again and hurt his hip. There are metal plates and screws in his body and he feels sore at times. But he just can't quit.

Taylor attends lessons on Saturdays and visits Lombard on Fridays. And every Monday he and his wife spend about seven hours at the Aurora Skate Center, where they sponsor open skates with live organ music from 5 to 7 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month.

“I don't want to vegetate,” he says. “I'm just going to keep going as long as I can.”

<h3 class="leadin">Virginia Wisdom, 66, Naperville - 'The closest thing to flying'

“Before I retired, I didn't have any time (to skate), and when I was a kid I didn't have any money,” said Wisdom, who joined the Lombard group two years ago. “Now I have both.”

A friend persuaded Wisdom to join by speaking fondly of the skaters' camaraderie.

“She was absolutely right,” Wisdom said. “The exercise is great and the friendship is really nice, too. It's a really nice group of people.”

Part of the joy in skating, she says, is learning something new.

Wisdom takes one or two lessons a week and has since learned how to do rockaways (shifting skates from one side to the other) and rollovers (crossing one foot over the other). Now she is practicing skating backward on one foot.

“Skating at a high speed around a rink is the most wonderful thing, the closest to flying that I can imagine,” she said and smiled.

Some of the Lombard regulars come from as far as Chicago and Indiana.

“We keep track of each other,” Sculley said, adding that there is concern if someone doesn't show up.

Some knit during skate breaks and other gather for lunch afterward. There's always lots of good conversation.

We're all getting older, but they still enjoy skating. That's what it's all about,” May said. “It's good for your body, it's good for your brain. It's good for your weight problems, for your emotions.

“What can you say is bad besides falling?” she says. “And we do fall. And we get up - or somebody picks us up.”