EHIND THE FENCE
HERE WE GO AGAIN
A SKATEPARK RE-OPENS
by John Komp
F
or once, the gods smile upon the Midwest. We put up with
a lot of harsh stuff here: nasty, cold, snowy winters, short
summers and, of course, the Midwest attitude barrier. But
we have been rewarded. The Turf, one of the last parks
in the country, has reopened for year-round shredding.
Originally opened in September of 1979 under the name
"Surf 'n Turf," the park was a fully functional adaptation
of West Coast parks that, at the time, were as numerous as Friday fish fries
are here in Brew City. It featured a unique indoor/outdoor environment
accessed by a series of retractable doors surrounding the skating area. Skaters
flocked to the spot in the early days during the first great resurgence of the
sport, but as the poseurs and wanna-be's found new bandwagons to jump
on, business began to fall off.
Sometime in late '82, the original owners of the park leased it to a new
company under the assumption that the skating would continue. They must
have been way o
way dismayed to find the building adorned with an enormous sign
reading "Bell E. Buttons" and filled with horny, unfulfilled old men drinking
expensive beverages and watching young girls mobilize their endowments,
free from the restraint of clothing. Unfortunately, legal technicalities allowed
this sordid behavior to continue while poor, unfortunate skaters ground their
teeth in frustration, knowing that prime skate terrain was sitting wasted and
out of reach.
This travesty continued until Jerry Steuernagel, one of the original owners,
discovered a loophole in the lease that allowed him to evict the strip club.
Jerry consequently became a hero to skaters nationwide, as well as to the
Top: Turf owner Jerry Steuemagel has a new lease on life for the park. Photo by Steve Keenan
Bottom: While still in the crossover stages, the signs on the Turf's outer walls told the
whole story. Right: Reaching for a keyhole channel hop on home Turf is Milwaukee
local Gomer Istavanick. Photos by Ron Schneider.
The Turf
SKATEPARK
BELL BUTTONS
NUDITY