Safety, age of building among the factors for selling the property

March 15, 2008, will be the last time to do the Limbo on wheels, play "Spin You Win," or see the glow of the "Couples Only" sign in the middle of the Lebanon Skate Center. Bill and Julie Flesher have sold the building, and after almost 30 years of operation will close the doors for the last time at 10 p.m. on March 15.

"The first 25 years, I poured my heart and soul into it…. It's just time. Everything has a time," Bill said.

Bill's father, Fred, bought the building from "Pop" Holbrook in 1974. Holbrook built the skating rink in the 1940s.

In July 1979 Bill bought the rink from his father. He knew he would spend most of his life at the rink from the day he took over. While moving materials into the skating rink the wheel of the trailer he was using fell off. "We said, oh, well I guess we're stuck here!" he joked.

Fast forward to 2008 and the time has came to move on. Citing the safety of children, traffic congestion, and the age of the building, the couple listed the property less than a month ago. The time from the listing to closing will be only six weeks. They had hoped that whoever bought the building would keep it as a skating rink.

"We prayed and prayed and it sold in four days, just not as a skate center," Julie said. Innovative Investments International, based in Corvallis, purchased the property.

In addition to Highway 20, three lanes of traffic are about 10 feet from the door of the Lebanon Skate Center. Two are turn lanes for cars heading out of the plaza, and one for cars coming in. Traffic is already booming in the plaza with Dutch Bros, and they expect it will get busier when the plaza opens. "The bank isn't even open yet and it's already busy," Bill said. "It's just a dangerous setting how those three lanes of traffic are," Julie added.

Additionally the roof leaks and there are other problems typical of an older building. "You could invest the $100,000 to improve the building, but there's no guarantee people will come," Julie said.

The couple made the move into real estate about seven years ago and are brokers with Coldwell Banker. Managers have been running the rink since then. "Since I've stopped being there 100 percent of the time, we've supported it," Bill said.

Julie has been helping manager Donald Schoenthal with the skating rink, as well as working in real estate. "She's been splitting her time in two," Bill said.

Lebanon schools used to take field trips to the rink annually. Now only East Linn Christian Academy, Sand Ridge Charter School, Fairview Christian, and a few smaller groups make the trip around the wooden floor. "Go back 20 years and every school in Linn County skated there," Bill said.

The Vikings hockey team uses the rink for practice and are now looking for a new home. Bill said the new owner will allow the traveling team to continue using the building for a few months after the rink closes to get through the transition.

Countless children have had their birthday parties at the skating rink, and that is one thing that Julie will dearly miss. Between 2006 and 2007, birthday parties have doubled at the rink, in part through Julie's simple changes of asking what the favorite color of the special guest was and adding decorations. "I'm going to miss that so much. It was just so cool," Julie said.

The Fleshers said they are "incredibly thankful" to all of the people over the years who have helped them with the skating rink. Alan Pritchard was one of those people. He has helped the couple watch over the rink during the last five years and has coached hockey teams. "There is no way we could ever thank him enough," Bill said. "He's been the stand-in guy the last five years."

Bill has watched the children grow over the years, many of which have worked at the skating rink. "Just to go in there and see those little kids, it just rips me in three," he said. "We've seen so many kids grow up."

Schoenthal was one of those kids Bill watched grow up. The 18-year-old has been coming to the Lebanon Skate Center since he was six.

"Ever since I started coming here I wanted to work here. I never thought I would be as high up as I am - I never thought I'd be the manager, but it happened," Schoenthal said. "Now that it's going to be gone, it's just really weird."

Working at the skating rink has taught him patience, helped him discover a love for children and a love for hockey. "The rink has taught me a lot as far as patience. It's taught me to love kids - I never thought I'd love kids as much as I do. Just working with them, sitting down and talking to them…. In some ways I feel like I've had an impact on the kids lives."

Austin, a 4-year-old who is learning to play hockey at the skating rink, is one of those kids Schoenthal has impacted. Austin looks up to Schoenthal and wants to work at the rink just as he does. "He wasn't too worried about where he was going to skate, he was more worried about where he was going to work because his job was gone," Schoenthal said.

For now, the manager is preparing his resume and cover letter and looking for a new job. "I don't think anything could be as fun as working here because your responsibilities here have a lot to do with having fun and making sure the kids are having fun," Schoenthal said.

The closure of the Lebanon business leaves only a handful of privately-owned skating rinks in Oregon. The remaining skating rinks are located in Springfield, Hillsboro, Gresham, Medford, Klamath Falls, and at the Oaks Amusement Park.

Lebanon Skate Center will be open on the final day, Saturday, March 15, from 1 to 10 p.m.

Note: If you have an area for the Vikings hockey team to practice, or are interested in playing hockey on the traveling team, please e-mail vikingshockey@comcast.net.