Local history: Lomi Ice Haus in Bath Township was a great place to skate

Glinting blades scraped the ice as skaters circled and twirled.

The Lomi Ice Haus at Montrose was a cool place to lace up in the late 1970s. If only the circumstances had been different, visitors could have enjoyed a longer skate.

The rink at 91 Springside Drive in Bath Township was the dream of high school teacher Lou Mikula (1929-2020), who lent the first two letters of his names to form the word “Lomi.”

Mikula majored in education at Kent State University in the 1950s, played hockey for the Golden Flashes and taught vocational education at school districts in New Philadelphia, Brecksville, Lakewood and Painesville. His family’s love of winter skating on a backyard pond inspired him to build an all-season rink in Northeast Ohio.

He selected the Montrose site because of its access to Interstate 77, its proximity to affluent neighborhoods and its lack of competing facilities.

After months of planning, Lomi Ice Haus incorporated Oct. 6, 1976 — the day before the Cleveland Barons played their first NHL game at the Richfield Coliseum. The rink’s backers included Dan Richards, Robert Maddox, Albert Schneider and David Jones. Bath Group, a limited partnership, served as the official owner.

Lomi Ice Haus opened in 1977

Norris & Associates oversaw construction of the 33,000-square-foot complex near I-77 and Route 18. The structure, which cost more than $775,000 to build (over $4 million today), featured an 85- by 200-foot rink, four dressing rooms, sport shop, snack bar, game room, offices and spectator bleachers.

In late December 1977, three months later than expected, Lomi finally advertised: “NOW OPEN.”

The owners promoted the indoor rink as inexpensive fun for the family. Admission cost $1 to $2.25 with 75 cents for rentals and $1.50 for sharpening.

“Ice skating gives you a different type of feeling — different from walking or running,” Richards, Lomi’s vice president and treasurer, told the Beacon Journal. “With skates, you can go as fast as the best runner can.”

The Montrose rink was open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Customers of varying abilities skated to live organ music. Lomi featured open skates, group lessons, private lessons, party rentals and amateur hockey matches.

Mikula recruited 1960 Olympic gold medalist Carol Heiss Jenkins, the wife of Akron native and 1956 Olympic champion Hayes Alan Jenkins, to teach classes. More than 300 kids showed up at the first skating clinic.

“I’m especially excited about this rink because they have taken such care,” Carol Heiss Jenkins told a reporter. “They’ve used a laser beam for accurate leveling, which is critical to good ice, and extra thick insulation so that the temperature at the rink will always be between 50 and 55 degrees.”

Practice rink for Cleveland Barons

In another big coup, the Cleveland Barons signed a deal to use the complex for their practice rink. Formerly the California Golden Seals, the NHL team had moved to the Richfield Coliseum in 1976.

On the ice in Montrose, hockey fans could glimpse such Barons stars as Dennis Maruk, Gilles Meloche, Al MacAdam, Bob Stewart, Bob Murdoch, Mike Christie and Wayne Merrick.

But Lomi Ice Haus suffered from bad timing. Just as customers were beginning to discover the rink, they couldn’t get there.

The Blizzard of 1978, a monster storm with hurricane-force winds, slammed into Northeast Ohio early Jan. 26. Nearly a foot of snow fell on top of a 16-inch storm from days earlier. Temperatures hovered around zero with the wind chill near 60 below.

It took Ohio residents several days to dig out. The blizzard helped make January 1978 the snowiest month in Northeast Ohio history. Akron-Canton Airport broke a record with 37.5 inches.

A storm of a different kind hit Lomi the following summer when the NHL announced June 14 that the Barons would merge with the Minnesota North Stars and leave Ohio.

The Barons had averaged fewer than 4,000 fans a game in the 18,500-seat Coliseum when the team needed 12,000 to be profitable.

“I don’t blame the people here for being disappointed. I am, too,” Barons co-owner Gordon Gund said.

Maruk, who was just about to buy a house in Bath when the team pulled up stakes, lamented having to move to a third city in four years.

“I’ve been pleased with the area and the fans who come to the games,” Maruk said. “They’ve been good to me, and as I got to know the area, I was starting to enjoy it.”

The unexpected loss of revenue jolted Lomi Ice Haus. Meanwhile, the operating costs surged as utility rates nearly doubled over the next year.

There just weren’t enough customers to make up for the loss. The rink went bankrupt in July 1979 only 19 months after opening.

Rollercade and Dance Connection

Exchanging blades for wheels, the complex reinvented itself in October 1979 as Bath Rollercade — “The Finest Skate Palace.” Disco music throbbed and lighting effects pulsed as disc jockeys supplied the beat during the “Roller Boogie” era.

In January 1984, the roller rink welcomed Dance Connection, a studio that offered lessons in ballroom, nightclub and social dancing.

“Have more fun!” the studio advertised. “Have more friends!”

Roller skates and dancing shoes eventually gave way to floppy disks.

In 1985, Telxon Corp., a Fairlawn manufacturer of portable computers and handheld devices, leased the old rollercade and moved about 100 employees from its software division into the building.

After Telxon relocated to Cincinnati in 2000, Masonic groups moved to the Montrose complex from Greystone Hall in downtown Akron.

Greater change was yet to come.

New home for Temple Israel

In 2010, Temple Israel members put together private funds and purchased the Bath Township building with the unanimous support of the Akron synagogue’s board. Construction began in January 2014 as crews gutted the interior, knocked down two walls and replaced the roof of the old rink.

Temple Israel sold its property at 133 Merriman Road for a fresh start at 91 Springside Drive.

“We will be transformed in a profound way,” Rabbi Robert Feinberg said as the congregation moved Sept. 28, 2014. “We anticipate that being in our new home will make us even stronger. We realize that temple is much more than a physical structure — it’s the people.”

Today with about 400 families as members, Temple Israel serves as a gathering place for worship, education and socialization. According to the congregation’s slogan: “We are kindling the passion to connect to each other, to the sacred, and to the world.”

From Lomi to shalom, it’s been an interesting 50 years on Springside Drive.

Mark J. Price can be reached at  mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Lomi Ice Haus in Montrose was great place to skate