The Closing Of The Community Center

In a way, this could be biased, so I'll start by saying I didn't actually want to step into the Eldridge community center the first time that I did. In 2016, I was much more interested in being an annoying 8-year-old and walking around Park View with my group of friends. But when your babysitter is your brother and when your brother wants to get the girl, well, what he says goes.

Built around 45 years ago, the Eldridge Community Center has been here much longer than us. There's a strong possibility that your teachers or even your parents spent their Fridays in the same place we did. Or you might even know someone who had their birthday or wedding at the community center.

My first Friday at the skatepark, young and unsupervised, I spent most of the night falling and running after my brother and his friends, but near the end, someone did one big favor for me. My brother and his girlfriend would lace my skates up, and they pushed me onto the floor, leading to the first time that I made it around the rink without falling. While I needed much more teaching from a worker who probably taught the majority of us to skate,

I would spend the next 9 years of my life on and off going to the skatepark, learning, meeting friends, making family, and working at the rink until we closed its doors on its very last open skate. 

Ask North Scott

When collecting data, I could have, of course, made posts on social media, I could have asked my fellow former workers, or I could have asked the city council for the data they had. But I figured who better to ask than the kids in the community, the ones who may have been there the same times I was.

Out of the 68 people who answered my survey, the majority of you said that you have been to the skatepark. Specifically, 85.5%. Whether you were dragged there by a friend, a school event, or you chose, it's been a staple in the community for many years. When asked to share a memory from the skatepark you are fond of, here's what you guys said

When I was little I thought it was the most elite place to have a birthday party so that's where I had mine and had the best time. --- Anonymous North Scott Student 

"When I was in elementary school I would go here every single Friday with my dad and he would take me and my friends. I shared many different memories with these people and I'll always remember looking forward to it every week. It's sad that the city decided to close it down because I think it was a big hit for little kids. I also think it was an overall great event center for different organizations in the community," said another anonymous North Scott student.

That student isn't the only one that has core memories from the skating rink: "I went every weekend when I was younger, but ever since they stopped doing school parties and stuff I've missed going. I learned how to skate on that rink. When my school would have a party there I would always go and win shoot-the-duck and I still have my stack of win cards and my roller skates," said another North Scott student.

Every day I would work and on my best days I'd train little kids and even older folks how to skate and watch them make progress in things like shoot the duck,  chop stick or even backwards skating. -- A Skate Park Staff Member

The End & The Aftermath

Place attachment is defined as an emotional bond between a person and a place. If you didn’t have the love for the rink in the way I did, I definitely had enough for all of us.

You may be asking if the rink had so much impact, why did they close it? As emotional as I can get telling this story, I'd like to look at this through the point of view of logic.

Beyond skating, the community center is just that, a community center. But as the Eldridge City Council liked to remind us, the events and skating were often attended by customers coming from outside of the Eldridge community. On top of that, a building that was meant to support itself had begun to be a financial strain on Eldridge, costing more money than it was making.

City Council member and now Mayor, Scott Campbell, said, “The city shouldn’t be running a business.” With the financial issues and the fact that it wasn’t being used enough by Eldridge residents, they decided to close, announcing it to the public on January 18th.

Personally, as someone who had to deal with it from the inside, the way it was brought to us will always feel a bit malicious to me. Without the skatepark, that leaves even less for teenagers to do in Eldridge. When I asked you guys what you do after school and over the weekend in Eldridge, I got many answers. Mostly school-related activities, but a lot of hanging around sips and mcdonalds or just going home. I'm a teenager too, so I know how it is. Where are they supposed to go when they don't have enough money for the fun station? When they don't have a membership at the YMCA? When they’re kicked out of McDonald's for being kids? There's all the engagement and money that could be spent in Eldridge driving away to be spent in Davenport instead.

Anonymous students reported that there is now "Nothing in Eldridge." And now they can only "Hang out with friends, go to McDonald's, and do dumb stuff." Another student said, "I would go to the skatepark usually, but since I can't anymore I tend to just sit at home unfortunately."

The City of Eldridge seems to have forgotten their demographic. To remove an entire facility that created a space for adolescents to find community and have fun in a safe manner, what will those kids do now?