ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 10, 1997 TAG: 9703120011
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GRIESSMAYER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Hockey fans love Elmer the Engineer
Bzzzzz! The buzzer blasts to end the first period of play for the Roanoke Express and its opponent.
As the hockey players leave the ice and head to the locker rooms for a quick pep talk, some fans begin to get up from their seats to stretch their legs.
Then Elmer the Engineer hits the ice.
The fans - particularly the younger kids - stop and watch with joy as the giant cartoon train engineer skates around the rink.
Elmer spins. He dances. He launches bright green Express frisbees into the audience.
With short, puffy arms, he waves in the Zamboni like a traffic cop. Then he frolics with Loco the Railyard Dog, the other Express mascot, until the second period begins.
Elmer is big. With his skates on, he's almost 8 feet tall, and it would take two or three kids to encircle his chunky body.
He wears a striped engineer's cap and coveralls, and a grin that won't quit. He looks like a cross between Abraham Lincoln and the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man.
And the fans love him.
Scott Harriman, 5, and Frank Boxley, 4, say they like Elmer because he makes them laugh.
"He's funny," said Scott. "He always does this silly dance." Scott and Frank, both in tiny Roanoke Express jerseys, demonstrate Elmer's dance by wiggling their rear ends in time with the music.
This is Elmer's first season with the Express. Until last summer, according to Express legend, he was just a normal train engineer and hockey fan. But one day Loco accidentally wandered onto the railroad tracks and Elmer saved his life. He's been whipping up spirit at Express games ever since.
Of course, behind - or in this case, underneath - every good mascot there's a dedicated man or woman. In Elmer's case, that man is Mike Quarles.
Yes, buried deep inside the vinyl balloon that forms the Elmer costume there's a man who gives Elmer his personality. Quarles makes Elmer dance and strut and celebrate each Express goal with the fans.
"Kids seem to get a big kick out of Elmer," Quarles said. "They love to come up and dance or give a high-five. And they love to hug and squeeze him."
He said that's the best part: the interaction with kids. He likes skating around the ice between periods, but his favorite part of his job as Elmer is going up into the stands and meeting people. The fans call his name whenever the see him.
"It's a lot of work being Elmer," he said. "But it doesn't bother me at all. If I could, I'd make a full-time job out of it."
Quarles got the part of Elmer after trying out last year. He was picked because he's a good skater, he could go to all the games and he has a funny, spirited personality.
Quarles usually arrives at the locker room about an hour before the game starts. Under the costume he wears normal clothes and a 20-pound battery pack strapped around a special belt. He also must wear a small motor - that's the lump you see on Elmer's right hip - to keep the suit inflated.
Before each game, Elmer and the other mascots decide who's going to do what, and where each will be at certain times. During the three periods of play, they wander through the crowd greeting fans and cheering, and participating in the occasional dance or stunt.
Between periods, the mascots hit the ice to help out with contests or pass out prizes.
Contrary to what you might think, the Elmer costume is actually pretty comfortable.
"The motor sucks in air from outside, so when I'm on the ice it stays nice and cool inside. It gets warm when I'm up in the stands for a long time, but not terribly uncomfortable. And I can see pretty well out of Elmer's mouth.
"The only downside is that Elmer is hard to move around. Because he's basically a big, inflated balloon, there are some things he can't do, like fall down. Once, at center ice, another mascot ran into me and when I fell the motor came disconnected. I didn't know it for a minute or so, but Elmer was slowly deflating with everybody watching."
Quarles' daughters call him "Elmer" at home now, and his friends at work do, too. Someone even crossed his name off his work mailbox and wrote "Elmer" in its place.
Clearly, the man makes the mascot. And Quarles is proud and happy to make Elmer everything he is: cute, funny and a real crowd-pleaser.
"It's fun," he said, "And a great way to relieve stress."
"You forget about everything when you put on that costume. You just go out and act like a fool."
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/THE ROANOKE TIMES. Elmer the Engineer (Mikeby CNBQuarles in real life) takes to the ice during a Roanoke Express game
at the Roanoke Civic Center. color.