The talk of Danny Hernandez brought back memories of my youth. The high school that I attended had just hired a young single guy for a combination basketball coach and typing instructor.

Well, this instructor was not really the country type and much preferred the action and excitement of the big city. So, in a effort to liven up the place, he decided to open a teen center/dance hall.

He found an old motel a few miles outside of town and decided that he could turn that into a night club for teens. Essentially, his plan was to gut out all of the individual rooms and turn the place into one long room. But it was going to take a while for that to happen and he was anxious to get started, so he opened the teen center in the coffee shop that was a part of the motel property.

The first season of the Sceen wasn’t much of a hot spot. They had a juke box, soft drinks and your typical teen junk food. In some respects, it was not much different that the student lounge at high school. But, the idea was that only cool people went to the Sceen.

The following summer, the main room opened and with it came live music and room to dance. They increased their menu selection and seating capacity.

It was the live music that was the real draw. Every Friday and Saturday night there was a different band and a cover charge. Some bands were hot while others were just OK. Of course, during the week, there was always the juke box but the place was only hot when the bands played.

Teens came from all over to hang out at the Sceen. Besides the Lakewood school district, they came from Grand Ledge, Charlotte, Hastings, Ionia, Belding, Greenville, Grand Rapids and Lansing.

Of course, anytime that you have revile school districts, you have revile teenagers. And when you have revile teenagers you have revile fights.

The fighting problem wasn’t too bad in the summer time, but once school started, that was another matter particularly if it was a home game. The Sceen was too close to the high school and athletic disputes had a tendency to move 3 miles down the road. And while nothing seriously happened with these disputes, the intimidation factor was still there.

The Sceen was around for maybe 10 years. And then one day the school teacher quit his teaching job and walked away from the sceen leaving it to the local bank. This was about the same time as the end of the draft. At that time, teachers were exempt from the draft so I thought it highly coincidental.

After a few years, the Sceen fell into disrepair. The bank was not savvy at getting rid of foreclosed property and no one wanted a teen night club in the middle of no where.

The buildings are gone now and nothing is left but the land. I had forgotten that the Sceen had even existed even though I occasionally drive past the spot. It was only when I read an article on Danny Hernandez that I remembered the Sceen.