Roller Barn to celebrate 75th anniversary amidst renovation

Seventy-five years is impressive but not enough for James Croft, one of the self-described “caretakers” of the Roller Barn. He’s in the midst of saving the iconic building once more — and hopefully for the last time.

“From what I know of, there’s been four times that the barn has been saved (by) families taking it over. Even people petitioning on the side of the road saved the Roller Barn in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Croft said. “Our goal is to never have to do a campaign like that again.”

Monday is the 75th anniversary of the Roller Barn, a bright red fixture of family entertainment in Oak Harbor since doors opened on June 30, 1950. Celebrations of the milestone will take place at the rink each day leading up to the anniversary, beginning June 27.

Skaters will “roll through the generations” Friday 6-9 p.m. to a soundtrack of ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s music, performed by local band Fire Creek, and Saturday night 4-11:30 p.m. while a DJ bumps tunes from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Family skate will proceed as scheduled Sunday afternoon 2-4 p.m. Come Monday, entry to skate 5-8 p.m. will cost only 25 cents, just like it did in 1950. There will be raffles and cake.

All of the money raised by the festivities, which also includes funds generated recently by a limited edition T-shirt and sweatshirt sale, will go toward the building’s ongoing renovation. That’s been the financial policy since Croft and his family took over the barn in 2020.

“Every dollar that comes in goes back. Our family doesn’t take any. We have a few employees that get paid but other than that, everybody else is volunteer,” Croft explained. “It all goes back to the renovations.”

That means renovations — and the safety of the barn— depend heavily on the community.

At the time of his interview with the Whidbey News-Times, Croft and several members of the Whidbey Island Roller Derby were painting the interior of the barn’s entrance. Case Custom Carpentry, Island Electric, Blue Fox Prints and Northwest Granite all lent their services in what have been largely cosmetic upgrades. The snack bar has been remodeled, the bathrooms touched up, new carpet installed.

For a mural honoring the barn’s legacy, a historic photo of the building and its original farmstead will be transferred to an approximately 20-foot wall behind several picnic tables alongside the rink. New roller skates will be in circulation as well, bought from Skate World in Tacoma after its closure.

Some drywall necessitated replacement, and the barn’s exterior was recently renovated to prevent water damage. Other than that, the building’s structural integrity is still strong after more than a century— it was constructed in 1912, finished in 1913, and originally used as a dairy barn before being converted to a rink.

That’s good news for Croft, whose job is to make sure the barn maintains enough of its original characteristics to remain eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, a program dedicated to preserving important historic buildings across the country. There are 15 Island County properties listed on the National Register today. Securing a spot means the building cannot be torn down, a real threat faced by the Roller Barn given the value of the land it is located on— it would be far more profitable to demolish it.

“We won’t let it go until it’s on that registry, because we’re not going to let this place just go away,” Croft asserted.

Fixing the roof is the biggest obstacle in achieving that goal, an undertaking that could cost over $1 million and will start with finding an engineer able to analyze what needs to be done to preserve and strengthen it. Obtaining such a quote may cost roughly $25,000, according to Croft.

“Once we get that, then we’ll be able to get an actual, real budget,” he added.

But besides raising money, Croft hopes the anniversary celebration will remind the city of the Roller Barn’s cultural importance and the necessity of its continued presence. The barn belongs to the community.

“All of us have stories that we could tell you about the Roller Barn,” he said. “We learned really quickly when we first took it over that we’re not the owners of the Roller Barn. We (own the barn) legally, yes, and on paper, yes, but it doesn’t have an owner.”