“I’ve Got A Brand New Pair of Roller Skates, You’ve Got A Brand New Key”

Recently, that old song about roller skates from the 70’s came to my mind. It reminded me of my childhood, and my first pair of roller skates in 1945. They were the buckle-on style, and required a key to adjust them to my shoes. I received my skates for Christmas, and was crazy about my new skates. Being cold weather at the time, I was not able to go out and skate on the sidewalk. My mother actually let me skate in the kitchen on the new, red inlaid linoleum! Through the years I skated miles and miles on the sidewalk with those buckle-on skates.

The question is: Did you ever skate with buckle-on skates? My friend’s answer was: “Yes, a million miles - back when you had sidewalks, and could skate anywhere without the fear of abduction. Back when respect, honor and the fear of God was the only thing you knew. Back when everyone in the town knew you—watched you and tattled to your mom if you did something wrong.” I certainly miss the innocent times of the 40’s and 5o’s. In 1950 my dad opened a skating rink. Skating became a “big thing” in Olney during those years. I skated many hours each week and learned a lot of special skate moves. F r i day and Saturday nights the floor was full of kids and adults. Couples did simple dance moves, and the young boys raced each other around the floor. We had a skate club. Many girls participated, and we wore matching skate costumes. It was a fun time in the early 50’s. O n e summer my family took a trip to California to visit relatives. We went to the beach and toured around Los Angeles. But, all I really wanted to do was go to a big skating rink…AND WE DID!!