Excerpt from Love at the Pub, Part 3: Community
Life Happens in a Bar: The Birth of
SkaterAid
Yes, the Pub is there for us in happy times
and sad. One incredibly somber period began on Christmas Eve 2004 when a Decatur father got a phone call while at the Brick Store.
His wife was relating the surreal news from the hospital emergency room that their oldest child Ian had a brain tumor. Although their
fifteen-year-old son had been complaining of headaches for the last four days, this news came as a total shock. Dave stood with his friend
and beloved Pub regular at the downstairs bar in compassionate, uncomfortable silence. There was nothing else to
do.
Like many other kids, Ian had grown up Brick
Store, occasionally sitting at the bar with dad doing his homework and perfecting the coaster flip with Ryan Gallagher. As he grew older,
Ian became a skateboard fanatic and rode all around Decatur with his young friends. He felt comfortable enough to come into the Pub and
ask for water on hot afternoon rides, which is perhaps why Ian asked to go to the Pub after his first chemo treatment. With the
heartbreaking spunk of a child, Ian courageously pulled off his hat at the table and showed Dave his bald head, “Hey, this is
me.”
Yep, this was him. A beautiful, precious, vibrant teen and a gift to the Decatur community. The family felt
strongly that their son would beat the odds, however Ian’s strain of brain cancer was especially virulent and took his life on July 4,
2005 at nine p.m., just when the Decatur fireworks were going off over the Square. A
gut-wrenching memorial service saw the boy’s friends assemble together with their skateboards and tee shirts they had designed with a
winged skateboard and the words “Shred for Ian.” While his spirit lives forever in the hearts of his family, Ian’s unique life story
has also spawned a community gathering that celebrates teenagers, namely SkaterAid.
This now-annual event began
from the desire of college friends of Ian’s mom and dad who wanted to show their support, honor Ian, and help defray medical costs. With
the help of her musician husband, Patrice Eastham got to work with Laura Deming on organizing a small music benefit. Their friend Corinne
Chaves had just started Decatur Healing Arts at East Decatur Station, a contemporary mixed-use complex with a nice parking lot. Through
Connie’s efforts, they secured the outdoor space for the event and things began to come together. Ian enthusiastically selected a logo of
Patrice’s design as he and everyone else felt certain of both his attendance and his return to health.
The benefit was in the early stages of planning when the bright boy passed, and the friends tenderly asked
the family if they could proceed. With a yes and a commitment of support, Ian’s father pulled in his strong network of community
contacts. Thus the event evolved into something different. Instead of just a fundraiser to help defray medical expenses, it became a
way to celebrate Ian's life. SkaterAid took off with the inspiration of the winged skateboard and became what it is today: a
kid-friendly, long September afternoon complete with teenage bands, skateboard competition, prizes, fried foods, face painting, and
auctioned art (most appropriately done on recycled skateboard decks). All proceeds benefit families dealing with pediatric
cancer.
Along with Thomas Taylor’s Stratosphere Skateshop, Patrice credits the Pub’s Carol Blanchard with making the
event happen every year, describing her support as indispensible and essential to building the character of the event. Pub manager
Kelley Turner assisted Ian’s school pal Sam Eastham with the raffle that first year and has grown to be a core member of the
SkaterAid team. Through Sam’s connection with Kelley, he got himself a dishwashing job at Brick Store once he turned eighteen. Becoming
part of the Brick Store family was a great experience for Sam and gives his mother Patrice another reason to be
grateful.
“Every year it seems that the Brick Store has become more integral to SkaterAid, from Carol and Kelley's
participation from the start to Dave's support of the art auction and that amazing pre-auction breakfast in the Belgian Bar. It’s
become impossible to separate the Pub from SkaterAid—they are fundamentally tied together.” Patrice continues on the theme of love at
the Pub:
It is so appropriate [this title] because there is such a generosity of spirit in that place, and I think that spirit is a big part of why the
Brick Store has become such a central gathering place for the Decatur community. It really brings back the historical idea of the pub
as a community resource and a home away from home.
Laura Deming shares the impact of SkaterAid and why she loves volunteering: “I’m inspired to keep co-leading
SkaterAid because of the feedback we get from kids. Our biggest fans are 12-18-year-olds who say it's the only event in Decatur geared
towards their age group. We’ve even nurtured some budding young Decatur musicians.” Laura appreciates the Pub’s annual beer donation
and event promotion efforts, fondly recalling the sight of thirty-plus art skateboards displayed on the Brick Store’s northern wall.
Then there’s the fact that she can count on many of the Pub’s employees and loyal customers as their most reliable volunteers
(including a soaking wet appearance by server Cozmo in the dunking booth).
As for the Brick Store
community as a whole, Ian’s brave fight touched a deep cord with many Pub goers who remembered the essence of family and love at the Pub
shining through during that time. One such person was Pastor Shayne Wheeler whose own child had been brushed by leukemia. At one point
someone close to Ian’s family asked Shayne if he would step downstairs from his balcony table to visit with the father and offer him words
of comfort. It was irrelevant that he was not the man’s minister or that Shayne was in the middle of enjoying his beer; this was the Pub,
Decatur’s tight-knit third place. As one long-time regular has observed, “life happens in a bar.”
SkaterAid’s integral relationship with the celebratory and nurturing culture of the Brick Store is well
summed up in the event’s website description: “Ultimately, SkaterAid is a place for teens to celebrate their youth. Whether flying
through the air on a board, playing music, or hanging out with friends, you're only fifteen once in your life, so . . . skate on. And
shred for Ian.”
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