Bazz's Roller Rink still rolling along 70 years later

RENSSELAER — When Orvial "Bazz" Pugh opened a roller rink in Rensselaer in 1953, he probably didn't foresee it being a local staple for 70 more years.

Pugh opened Bazz's Roller Rink on June 1, 1953 and his daughters, Wanda (Pugh) Rayburn and Ruth Pugh and their families, continue to run it today. In honor of its 70th year, the sisters and their families — including their children and grandchildren — opened the rink to allow those in the community to skate for free on June 2.

Several minutes before opening, a long line of people waited outside the entrance of the business to get in a couple of hours of skating.

Bazz purchased a tent roller skating rink in the 1950s and transported it to Boswell, Indiana, for nearly a year before moving it permanently to Rensselaer. The rink was first opened at what is now the old fire station.

He would later purchase some ground from local farmer Albert Miller and raised the tent at its current address of 1751 N. McKinley Avenue, where kids were able to skate while their parents watched from the convenience of their cars.

Bazz then chose to enclose the rink to make it a permanent business.

Bazz and his wife Opal ran the rink until his death in 1971. Son-in-law Homer Rayburn and daughters Wanda and Ruth took over in ‘71 until Homer's death in 2001.

Currently, third- and fourth-generations of Pughs are overseeing the business, with Ruth and Wanda and Chris and Pam Schleman (Homer and Wanda's daughter and son-in-law) and Bryan and Anna Schleman (Chris and Pam's son and daughter-in-law) operating the rink every weekend.

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