When I announced that I was excited to go roller skating, the teens laughed. Shaking their heads, one conceded, “Well, maybe it will be fun in a retro way … You know, like reliving your childhood.”

Maybe they had a point. Growing up in Chatham, New York, we were lucky enough to have skates donated to our school. For a month each year, we could bring in albums to listen to while we spun around the “old” gym. Peaches and Herb, Shawn Cassidy and the Bee Gees murmured from the small record player. For 30 minutes each day, we were middle school cool.

And if the local movie wasn’t rated G or PG, we would pile into family cars and head down the road to the Skatorama. There, in between 50-cent Cokes, we would wait for the Moonlight Serenade, where with the lights dimmed and manufactured stars spinning about, maybe — just maybe — a boy would ask us to skate. Most of the time, the answer was no.

With these memories in my back pocket, I headed to Savvy Skaters at the Saranac Lake Civic Center. The session may have been reserved for ages 30 and up, but for once, the older participants had the upper hand. With some notable exceptions, the grey hairs glided, while the 30-somethings made more tentative steps while hovering close to the boards. After a turn or two around the rink, everything felt natural. Too natural for a moment, when I overestimated my ability. In retrospect, it’s probably good that you can’t physically crush memories because my back pocket made contact with the floor.

While the music and sound systems were a step up from my youth, the air was thick with Saranac Lake roller skating nostalgia. From 1977 to 1983, the Saranac Lake Fun Factory operated in the old dress factory, where Kinney Drugs is now. Joan Frank, the theatrical entrepreneur, opened the rink in March of 1977. In addition to weekend skating sessions, she hosted skate-a-thons and even Winter Carnival Roller Skating Balls. (The latter makes me curious. Ballgowns and roller skates? The combination sounds fairly disastrous.)

I wasn’t the only one with a pocketful of memories. When I mention roller skating, locals speak enthusiastically about their weekends at the old rink. Nighttime admissions were $2.50, but since the building was heated with a wood furnace, an armful of firewood was also an acceptable currency.

Larcenous Lorri remembers stealing firewood from a nearby porch to secure free admission. Since she skated there so often that Mike Magee kept her skates on a special shelf, it’s a wonder she was never caught. And I am sure my husband Bill wasn’t the only bigshot who allowed his friends to deplete the family woodpile. Bigshot, that is, until his father found out.

Kerry Munn didn’t remember the wood nights, but she knew her newspaper route money went weekly to the rink. She spent it both on admission and at the snack bar where Nancy worked while her future husband, Dave, looked on admiringly.

The point? It’s been 40 years since the old rink closed, yet faces still light up when it is mentioned. Whether it’s a chance to capture that old joy or introduce this activity to a new generation, our civic center has you covered. Throughout June, Mondays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. are open skates for all ages. Wednesdays are reserved for the over-30 set. A whole lot of fun at only $5 a person — including skates, and payable online, you can’t go wrong. Better yet, no illicit firewood required.

Perhaps the most exciting event will be on Thursday, June 19: an ’80s night, featuring a DJ and mood lighting. Maybe if there is a Moonlight Serenade, I can get Bill to hold my hand and skate. Then again, after 30 years, there is no question. I’m sure I’ll enjoy watching the other couples stroll by, just like I did as a kid.