Vic Bradshaw
Frederick News Post

Robert Leatherman has fond childhood memories of times spent at a roller skating rink in town. If he has his way, his son Brian soon will be able to make similar memories.

With the help of family and friends, Mr. Leatherman and his wife, Barbara, want to reopen the rink below the Thurmont Bowling Center. The project must be granted a special exception by the town’s board of zoning appeals, which will hear the case Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Though the 4,800-square-foot space once was used for roller skating, it most recently was a bar. Because the building is in a residential-zoned area, a special exception must be granted to change the use.

If the board grants approval, Mr. Leatherman said he’ll sign a lease Friday and start renovations as soon as possible. His goal is to have the rink open by the end of March. "From what we hear in town," he said, "everybody else is excited about it, too."

"We can’t find any negatives," Mrs. Leatherman added. After years of shuttling Brian to Frederick or Waynesboro, Pa., to do things, Mr. Leatherman said he thought there should be recreation opportunities for kids in Thurmont. The town and its surrounding area, he reasoned, has grown enough to support a business geared toward kids. It was Mrs. Leatherman, though, who got the skating idea rolling. She had received money from the estate of her grandmother, Thelma "Gray" Thayer, and was considering ways to invest it. As the couple drove past the town’s duckpin bowling alley one day, she saw the sign that the building was for sale.

Before long, they were researching roller- and inline-skate prices. If things go as they hope, they’d like to take over management of the bowling alley and eventually buy the building.

Robert and Barbara, who live near Cunningham Falls State Park, have taken the lead role in the project, but they aren’t alone. Other family members have made financial commitments to the project, and they and friends have enlisted to help refurbish the rink.

To cut down on renovation costs, Mr. Leatherman, a carpenter, plans to do a lot of the work himself. The Leathermans hope the combined family money will cover the renovation and start-up costs, allowing them to open the business free of debt. If and when it opens, family members and even Brian’s friends might be called on to help operate the rink.

"Some second jobs and businesses take you away from family," Mrs. Leatherman said. "This is something we can do, us three, with our brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews all together. I think grandmother would’ve liked that."

For months, lack of activities for children has been a common complaint at meetings in the north part of Frederick County. In Emmitsburg, citizens at public meetings and the organizers of the Emmitsburg Coalition to Prevent Drug Abuse have lamented the lack of nearby recreation opportunities. In Thurmont, the Citizens Advisory Board formed a committee to research cost-effective ways to provide outlets for youngsters.

"I’m all for it if they’re trying to reopen that rink," said Pat Boswell, chairwoman of that committee. "They’re going to have a 100 percent endorsement from the kids of Thurmont."

Harold Ferguson, who’s owned the building since 1992, closed the bar about three years ago. He considered reopening it as a skating rink (he skated there as a child, too) but didn’t want to deal with the kids, and he thinks the Leathermans can succeed.

"I think they really have a good shot at it," he said, "because they’ve got some good ideas and they’re very enthusiastic about it."

The Leathermans plan to name the rink Flashbacks. Because roller skating is part of the memory of many generations and they hope to draw families, they plan to play music spanning the last six decades.

Mr. Leatherman already is thinking of ways to reach different demographic groups. He plans to put a shuffleboard court on the rink floor so the less agile can use it.

The couple’s business experience should help, too. Mr. Leatherman ran his own contracting company, and Mrs. Leatherman manages United Optical in Frederick. They’ve been working with a business consultant to finalize their plans.