Community needs help saving Texas' oldest roller-skating rink in Cedar Hill
CEDAR HILL — The oldest roller-skating rink in the state of Texas, and a staple in a Dallas County community, is at risk of closing.
The Cedar Hill Roller Rink has been around since the era of poodle skirts and jukeboxes. It has quite a history with its many original, ironic features of a bygone era still in place.
The owner said he may have to close the doors forever due to tens of thousands of dollars in needed upgrades. Now the community is coming together to save the historic rink.
"We've been here since 1956. I'm the oldest skating rink in Texas," owner Dave Candanoza said.
The man with the big laugh, Dave Candanoza, has owned the rink for 18 years and is affectionately known in the community by his nickname.
"It's Super Dave," Candanoza said while showing his Superman tattoo.
He wants to create memories for new generations of skaters.
"Grandpas bring their kids, and there's just generations down that have come here," Candanoza said.
Mason McCuller shares fond memories of the rink with his two children.
"As soon as I walk in the door, the nostalgia hits me," McCuller said. "I've been coming to this rink since I was about five years old, my son's age. It's coming on 30 years, three decades."
Candanoza even laced up his own skates and hit the rink as a little boy. What an inspector found left his head spinning.
"There's certain things with some electrical issues, a couple of things with the plumbing, the floor by the restrooms," Candanoza said.
Those improvements come with a hefty price tag.
"It's in the ballpark of $30,000," Candanoza said. "That's expensive, like super expensive. I don't have that kind of cash."
Candanoza hopes the rink can roll into the future. He started a GoFundMe page last month with the prayer of saving the rink for generations to come.
"Hopefully we can come together and save the rink for the kids and all the other activities that go on here as well," McCuller said.
"I want to see the rink make it to 100 years open," Candanoza said. "We've been open since 1956, so that's another 26 years away or something like that, 25. That would be pretty cool to see the 100-year anniversary of the Cedar Hill Roller Rink."
The rink has built almost seven decades of memories, and for those whose hearts are filled with nostalgia, minds with sentimental thoughts, and feet with the familiar feel of wood, hope the flashbacks of the past will continue for many generations to come.