Skate-rink job memories linger
Published 10:08 pm Sunday, July 27, 2008
In Steve Peck’s younger day at the Everett Skate Deck, kids did the hokey-pokey and conga dance.
Def Leppard was huge.
Remember at roller skating rinks, when skaters cruised around and around to “Beer Barrel Polka” on the organ?
Peck helped move Everett kids into the world of new wave, heavy metal, rap and techno pop.
“I was the D.J. at the Everett Skate Deck for years,” said Peck, 43. “I worked at the rink from 1979 until 1991.”
As Peck hung out at Skate Deck, he got acquainted with all the gang. A regular rink rat, he answered phones and helped where he could.
One day, he was tossed in the record room and his first career was born.
“I was really shy,” he said. “But I knew how to run all the stuff.”
At 15 years old, he made $2.10 per hour playing music for skaters. And he had responsibilities. While tunes spun, he could see the rink and watched for roughhousing.
“I guarded the door and cleaned the floors,” Peck said. “I made sure no one skated too fast.”
Nicole Warnock, 30, helps run Everett Skate Deck with her family. Her grandfather, Eric Englund, 76, built the rink in 1976 and still drops by.
“We can’t keep him away,” Warnock said. “He still drives the bus.”
They use a bus to pick up guests and groups to use the rink.
“Steve was a good D.J.,” Warnock said. “Everybody liked him.”
When I met Peck at the rink, he was accompanied by his godchildren, Martin D.L. Gorman, 8, and sister, Shian Gorman, 10, of Lake Stevens.
“I love these kids,” the bachelor said, helping them lace their skates. “They are my life.”
When Peck moved on to a job at the Boeing Co., he gave up the rink and did some weekend work as a D.J. He offered music for private parties, weddings and back-to-school parties. He has an extensive collection of compact discs and records at his Lynnwood home.
“I still have the license plates that say MRDJS on my Geo Tracker. I got those plates when I was working at the rink almost 20 years ago.”
He constantly runs into folks around town who remember him from the rink.
Peck still promotes the virtues of the Skate Deck. It’s a family place, he said, where kids stay out of trouble and get through the rough years.
“It was where you met your friends,” Peck said. “You can even meet your life mate here. I’ve seen it happen.”
Kids grow up and move away from the rink, he said.
And a younger crowd takes their place.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 oharran@heraldnet.com
