A Place Called Ramona
#5 in the series, "A Legacy of Stories." Written by my dad, Forest Jordan
(Read about A Legacy of Stories, here.)
We are at the Ramona a lakeside pavilion at Sister Lakes in southern Michigan. It is Friday night, traditionally THE place to be for teens from the nearby towns. We live for Friday nights. The dance floor is large. There are tables and colorful paper lanterns around three sides, which are open to the warm summer nights. A bandstand occupies one end. Ted Galligan’s band out of South Bend, Indiana, plays there Friday and Saturday nights through the warm months.
“Check out that redhead,” George Irwin says.
All eyes follow the direction of George’s nod. A lovely girl with a great tan sits at a nearby table. She has deep blue eyes. Nobody knows her or the couple across the table from her.
The question becomes who is going to ask her to dance and get acquainted. She’s just too pretty and we are all intimidated.
Well, she can only say no, I think, as I rise from my seat amid laughter and catcalls from my rowdy companions..
“Would you like to dance?”
“No, thank you.”
“I guess this means marriage is out of the question.”
This brings a look of surprise and a giggle.
Bill Bowers materializes from somewhere and says jokingly “Is this guy bothering you?”
I might have known a dynamite girl like this would be with Bowers. It turns out she came out with Bill and his parents from Chicago as a guest at their summer home on Indian Lake. Everybody knows Bill. He is the ultimate cool guy. He drives a Cadillac convertible and tears around the lake in a hot Chris Craft speedboat. He became a legend around one summer when he sank it, Like a character by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he is everything the rest of us would like to be…we think.
Bill and J are not strangers. I was with him and a gang of guys when we drove over to Diamond Lake at Cassopolis for some action at a night spot. Not much doing there so Bill floors the car and we roar out of the parking lot throwing gravel in all directions. Bill rips through the village at about 60 miles an hour risking everyone’s life and limb but we don’t care.
We pass the sheriff's station on the way out of town. Down the road, Bill skids to a halt, runs around the car and lifts out the unfastened license plate, revealing a different one behind.
We are impressed. NO cops are chasing us, by the way. It is pure theatricality but..Now back to the table. at the dance hall, Bill and I exchange “How ya doin’s .” and I go back to the table. At the table this night, the guys decide they want to go to another spot around the lake. I want to stay, but now need a ride home. Beryl Davis is sitting with Roger Kroth and two others. We are friends. I ask her to dance and we move out onto the floor.
She’s short, just under five feet, and I am just over six, but we dance well together, never mind the Mutt and Jeff cracks. I know all the kids at Beryl’s table and I settle in, explaining that my companions didn’t dance and wanted to move on.
Beryl and I danced the final set and then caught a ride back to town in Roger’s ’37 Ford coupe. Beryl and I share the rumble seat with two others. It’s a jam. Three people are crowded into the front seat. Roger drives slowly on the winding country road and we talk and laugh, but mostly neck, while the moon winks through the overarching trees.
Okay, so I didn’t connect with the redhead, but the night turned out great anyway.
I don’t know if the Ramona is still there. I’m going back home this spring to see my sisters. I think I’ll drive out to the lake and see. Maybe, like youth, it was a magic place that endures only in the heart.
Forest Jordan
March 7,2000
8:30pm
Additional info added by Tom Jordan – May 23, 2025
- The Ramona Roller Rink was originally built in 1928 as a dance hall, the Ramona Dance Pavilion. It was built by the first owners the Adams brothers, and all the big bands played there like George Jones and the nine Hawkeyes, Stan Norris and Orchestra, and Jack Windel and his famous orchestra. The average admission cost in the opening era ranged from a dime to quarter, and the dancing was amazing as Ramona became the hot spot of all of Sister Lakes.
In the 1950s Ramona had adopted roller skating alongside the dancing. As the storied history tells it, “The blue floors were a sea of inviting tides to skaters everywhere.” Roller skating was a way to fill the holes that dancing was not. The type of music that was played in the opening era of skating at Ramona was organ music. People were rolling in to try the new trend in entertainment which hit it’s stride in popularity in the 1970s. The average cost to get in then ran about a buck to a buck-and-a-quarter.]
From ChatGPT: The Scoop: History & Significance
· Long-standing gem: The Ramona Roller Rink had been part of the Sister Lakes community for decades—celebrating around 96–97 years of skating tradition as of summer 2025.
· Activities offered: It wasn’t just public skating. The rink hosted roller and inline skating, hockey, birthday parties, plus contests, games, prizes, and a snack bar. It’s described as one of Sister Lakes’ great local attractions Michigan.
Disaster Strikes: Fire in 2024
· What happened: In May 2024, a lightning strike—likely from a severe storm—ignited a fire that engulfed and destroyed much of the nearly century-old building.
· Damage and response: The building was in ruins, but the community and owners rallied. Fundraisers, including birthday celebrations held in the parking lot, raised money for rebuilding.
Rebuilding Efforts: A Community-Powered Comeback
· Initial plans (June 2024): The owner, Harold Schaus III, reviewed new building designs and aimed to reopen by that winter while preserving what could be saved (like the original hardwood floor), covered by tarps to protect it WSBT.
· Groundbreaking (February 24, 2025): Construction officially began, and they hoped to reopen by fall ABC57
· Progress by spring 2025: Walls, roof, and windows were up. The new building was being painted blue (away from the old grey). The original hardwood rink floor had survived, even with burn marks—intentional markers of its resilience WSBT
· Floor as a story piece: Plans included preserving burn marks in the wood (resin-coated) as a physical reminder of its history. A heart-shaped mark from one of the rink’s oldest skaters added symbolic resonance WSBT.
Community Support & Celebrations
· Fundraisers: The rink’s 96th birthday and other events drew strong support and fundraising buzz ABC57WSBT.
· 97th-anniversary fundraiser (July 2025): Even as rebuilding continued, the community gathered with vendors, food trucks, music, and a preview view of the new building under construction WWMT.
Current Status — As of Summer 2025
· The new blue building stands with roof and walls mostly complete.
· The original wooden floor remains—intact and weather-protected.
· The plan is to reopen this fall (2025), pending final interior work, plumbing, and finishing touches