Couple rolling along as if they were 16
When Kevin Klingensmith and his siblings were planning a surprise for their parents' 25th anniversary, another party was in the works.
Unbeknownst to Klingensmith, his children were planning a 25th anniversary party for himself and his wife, Danette, who would be joined by friends and family at the roller rink where they met.
“We were both 16, and I asked her to skate — and that was that,” said the 44-year-old Klingensmith of Evans City, recalling his time at the Skate Castle rink in Butler Township.
“We saw each other there on Fridays and Saturdays every weekend,” he added. “That's how we started dating.”
More than two decades later, the couple was skating again after careful planning by their children Nichole, 22; Dustin, 18; Jenna, 16; and Angel, 10.
The couple's oldest daughter Randi died in a car wreck in 2008 at age 20, but Kevin said she, too, was at the heart of the event.“We found out later that this was something Nichole and Randi had talked about doing,” he said.Despite that bittersweet sentiment, the couple cited joyful surprise when arriving at the rink.Several weeks before the event, they received an invitation instructing them to be available that day.“It just told us our ride would be here at 7 o'clock. (and said) don't be late and don't ask any questions,” Kevin said, explaining they were asked to close their eyes for the final part of the car ride.The couple was met by close to 40 guests including their bridal party. Most surprised them by making a showing on the rink.“Ninety-nine percent of the people skated,” Kevin said.“It was a surprise to see all those people get on skates after 20 or 30 years,” Danette agreed.“I would say we were pretty good,” Kevin said of the couple's skating technique.“We didn't fall,” Danette agreed.If the skaters didn't reveal the time lapse since the Klingensmiths were 16, the couple said the music did: having changed from old-fashioned organ music to the 1980s tunes their family requested.
But some things hadn't changed.“It has a nostalgia to it,” Kevin said.“I feel the same way,” Danette agreed.“The music was different. The people were different, but it felt like I was young again when we were there.”
