Rolling Through Time - The National Museum of Roller Skating

Rolling Through Time
By James Vannurden, Director
Official Newsletter of:
National Museum of Roller Skating
4730 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68506
(402) 483-7551 ex. 16
@rollersk8museum
Who We Are
Bi-Monthly
September 1, 2015
Chester Fried Donation
The National Museum of Roller Skating is a 501(c )3
non-profit organization located in Lincoln, Nebraska and
the only dedicated roller skating museum in the world.
We are committed to the preservation of the history of
roller skating. With over 50 display cases, the museum
educates the public on all aspects of roller skating, which
dates back to the first patented skate from 1819.
Curator’s Corner
Rink Photo Donation
Last week Richard Giardini visited the museum and
donated a photo album from his father’s travels.
Through his travels in the upper Midwest, Jim visited
various roller rinks and collected pictures.
The above photograph depicts Wonderland Roller Rink
from St. Louis, Missouri. Other pictures from
Wonderland included shots of the floor as well as
skaters.
While continuing to sort through the Chester Fried
donation, I came across the above pocket-sized program
from 1885. This New York City Carnival and
Masquerade Ball was sponsored by the Knickerbocker
Roller Skating Club.
Inside the program is a simple list of the order of events
for the evening. This specific party included ten precise
dances. Divided into two parts of five dances each, the
order of dance included four waltzes, two lanciers, two
polkas, a quadrille, and a gallop. Just imagine the great
time had that April evening at American Institute Hall!
The Dome in Dixon, Illinois
New and Renewing Members
William & Dorothy McDonald
Linda Katz
Janet Jordan
Louise Neal
Featured Story
The First Roller Derby
genders, newspapers dubbed this competition as more
of a spectacle than a sport.
The Transcontinental Roller Derby launched its first
competition on August 13, 1935. Hosted by the Chicago
Coliseum, some twenty thousand spectators arrived to
witness history. A total of twenty-five teams entered this
first derby. Each team, comprised of one man and one
woman, began the grueling race at 12:00 noon. A daily
number of miles skated per day by each team was
needed to retain eligibility. The team which covered the
3,000 mile distance first won.
Many obstacles arose over the course of this month-long
derby. Most teams were disqualified due to injuries or
exhaustion. Many skaters needed hospital visits after
nasty falls, forcing his/her teammate to continue skating
for hours to remain qualified. For those teammates not
skating, the center of the rink provided cots for rest.
The original game of roller derby played by very different
rules and had a different objective than today’s sport.
The Transcontinental Roller Derby, so named because
the distance skated of 3,000 miles equaled that of the
distance between San Diego and New York City, began
as an endurance race. Rules allowed little contact, and
skaters used proper technique and pacing their speed to
skate as long as possible.
Leo Seltzer
Leo Seltzer formed roller derby in 1935 to attract skating
enthusiasts with a new spectator sport based on roller
skating. His concept was quite simple: teams competed
to see which one could skate the distance of 3,000 miles
the fastest. Teams of two circled a banked oval track for
12 hours per day; one skater from each team needed to
be on the track at all times. At the end of each day a
large, 90-foot electric scoreboard kept track of each
team’s progress. These races lasted over a month.
This new sport guaranteed both men and women would
compete against each other on the same floor under the
same rules. These rules helped garner a large female
following in the crowds. But because of the mixed
After a month of skating, derby crowned a winner. Of
the twenty-five teams that began the race, only nine
teams crossed the finish line. With a time of 439 hours,
12 minutes and 39 seconds the team of Clarice Martin
and Bernie McKay won the first roller derby competition.
The team coming in second finished with a time of 493
hours, 25 minutes, and 10 seconds, completing the race
more than two full days later.
We must remember the roots of derby for starting us on
the path to a great sport. Endurance and great skating
still make up a large part of derby. With participation
growing, roller derby members owe their sport to those
individuals who met the challenge of the first
Transcontinental Roller Derby.
Happy Labor Day Weekend
Rink Sticker Collection
The museum has an extensive collection of roller skating
rink stickers. Many skating rinks used to produce
stickers as both an advertisement and fun way to for
skaters to interact with one another, comparing the
different location in which they skated. These were even
traded as collectibles both informally and formally, under
the Universal Roller Skating Sticker Exchange founded
in 1948. Each newsletter, we will feature different rink
stickers. Here are a few examples of the numerous
stickers in the collection and on display at the National
Museum of Roller Skating.
As with most holidays, roller skating rinks promote
various parties to celebrate Labor Day. Patriotic themes
are popular as well as a seasonal change idea including
fall harvests.
We found one such example with the above
advertisement. Sparkles Rink in Smyrna, Georgia is
hosting a skating party on Monday night. This Atlanta
suburb rink hopes to entertain families at the end of their
holiday celebrations.
The coming of Labor Day here at the museum is the
official end to our summer season for visitors. Over half
of our total visitation comes during the summer months
and begins to decline after the holiday.
Thanks for supporting the museum!
As is our policy during the major holidays, the museum
will be closed on Labor Day. We look to open the next
day with great anticipation for the autumn season. If you
are in the area please stop in and visit the museum this
fall.