10 JANUARY 2023 | PROMOTING EVENTS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE | INTHEVUE.COM “Because Kingsway was on the Southside, most of the teenage employees were from Reidland High School. My friend came to me and said they needed to hire someone from another high school because it made scheduling tough when they all needed off for the same school events,” she says. “I quit immediately. I’d only worked there for two months.” Sandra threw down her apron and walked into Kingsway that day as an employee. And then a funny thing happened. “It was October of 1986 and I have been here ever since,” she says. For 36 of Kingsway’s 50 years, Sandra has been there. She worked alongside Tony and Connie, first as an employee and then as manager. She’s at the rink every day. “It’s in my blood,” she says. She’s seen a lot in those nearly four decades. She loves talking about the Skate-A-Thons they did to raise money. She loves Skating for a Cure events, New Years Eve parties at the rink, all-night skates, roller hockey and roller derby, and the 4-H Mini Wheels partnership with the local 4-H chapter where Sandra could teach kids how to skate. “All of that was so exciting,” she says. “The most memorable times were when we did special things that gave back to the community.” She says those were the most memorable times, but they probably were trumped by her Wedding Extravaganza on Skates. You read that right. When Sandra and her husband got married, at Kingsway Skateland, the entire wedding party was on wheels. “It was July 3rd and the whole rink was decorated in red, white, and blue,” she says. “I had this big, fluffy dress and I just floated down the skating rink.” “The preacher was the only one who about fell down.” “It was a blast.” For Connie, who was in attendance, it was a once-in-a- lifetime occurrence, even for a rink rat like herself. “When I was a kid and my parents had that rink, I had heard of a couple of other people that had gotten married on skates,” she says. “I never dreamed it would happen in my rink.” Fifty years at Kingsway has not always been smooth rolling, weddings, and skate-a-thons. Connie has seen some tough times come and go along the way as well. When she lost Tony, even though it was in her blood, Connie could hardly cope with having to take over the business that he’d managed for so long. “I’m an x-ray tech by trade and I didn’t know the actual running of the business that well,” she remembers. “That was the scary part for me.” “I just had to take it over and try to make it on my own.” Fortunately, she had Sandra, who Connie calls her right arm and her left arm. When you ask both women about the tough times they’d seen at Kingsway, without hesitation, they say the COVID-19 pandemic. “We had to close for three months and it was right in our peak time in the winter,” Connie says. “We were struggling to know if we would be able to open those doors again. We didn’t know how long it was going to be closed at the time. “I was fortunate that our building is paid for. Some skating rinks in the country had to close after that.” “That was one of the scariest times.” But, they agree that there is one thing that makes all of the scary times worth it. In fact, it makes all of the mundane things worth it too, like the toilets that clog, the bills that don’t pay themselves, the slow summers, the busy winters. Tony Markgraf celebrating his 60th birthday with his wife, children, and grandchildren in 2005
