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May 21, 1908

TO TEACH THEM TO SKATE.

Free Instructors to Be on Duty at

Forest Park Rink.

The management of the new St. Nicholas roller rink at Forest park will introduce an innovation that should prove popular with those who have not thoroughly mastered the art of being graceful on rollers. Commencing tomorrow the services of courteous and expert instructors will be given free at the rink every afternoon and evening. The band will give two concerts every day and the check room will be operated without cost to the patrons.

Labels: amusement, forest park, skating

May 12, 1908

MAY STOP SIDEWALK SKATING.

Property Owners on Linwood Boule-

vard Complain to Park Board.

At a meeting of the park board yesterday, a communication was received from property owners along Linwood boulevard that roller skaters have taken possession of the sidewalks to the annoyance of pedestrians, and that some of the skaters are real hoodlums in their conduct. The general superintendent was directed to look into the complaint and to devise a method for stopping the alleged nuisance.

Labels: Linwood boulevard, Park board, skating

May 11, 1908

MARSHALS AT THE PARKS.

Will Report Their Observations to the

Grand Jury.

Names of employees connected with pay attractions at Forest and Fairmount parks were taken yesterday by the county marshal's men and will be given to the Wallace grand jury when it meets this week.

Al Heslip personally visited Fairmount park and saw men and women dancing and gliding on roller skates. Also he witnessed a man selling tickets to the Angora goat farm and the lake.

"If the jury thinks it is wicked to use roller skates and witness a dog show downtown on Sunday," the marshal argued, "it will believe it equally unlawful to skate, ride in a boat or watch the goats on a Sunday in the park." So the marshal put down all the keepers' names.

Deputies Joseph Stewart and Henry Miller made out a complete list of men they caught working and playing at Forest park.

The blue Sunday downtown was brightened a bit by the reopening of the Shubert theater.

Labels: amusement, animals, County Marshal Heslip, dancing, fairmount park, forest park, Judge Wallace, skating

April 29, 1908

THOU SHALT NOT

SKATE ON SUNDAY.

JUDGE WALLACE HANDS DOWN

ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT.

He Wants the Rinks Closed -- Sends

Deputies Out to Get Names of

Offenders -- The Philoso-

phy of Kimbrell.

"Thou shalt not upon a Sunday move thy feet with a gliding motion when thou hast roller skates attached to thy shoes!"

This commandment has been handed down by Judge W. H. Wallace to his twelve tried and true grand jurors, passed on to the deputy marshals and was read with a thud yesterday afternoon by County Prosecutor I. B. Kimbrell, who was signing indictments against theater folk, in the form of an indictment against S. Waterman, charged with managing "a place of amusement for pay, otherwise known as the Coliseum roller skating rink at Thirty-ninth and Main streets, Kansas City, Mo."

After reading the missive three times, the prosecutor, who some weeks ago swore off smoking, was so excited that he absent-mindedly lighted a cigar presented to him a week or two since by a voter who had called for free legal advice. When Mr. Kimbrell had coughed the rancid smoke out of his lungs he recovered composure, threw the cigar away and remarked:

"Well, it's not a matter of great importance at this time of year, anyhow, as very soon the boys will be going barefoot and can't wear roller skates. Besides, next Sunday they can go to the baseball game."

The prosecutor picked up his pen and started to sign his name to the indictment. He hesitated. He said:

"I believe I'll talk this over with the grand jury first."

"I wouldn't write anything about it," suggested Charles Riehl, deputy prosecutor, to reporters. "We don't know for sure yet whether the jury will return the indictment against the rink."

Joseph Stewart, veteran bailiff of the criminal court, and Henry Miller, custodian of the criminal court building, were the trusted men, who Sunday went forth and searched the city for roller skating rinks. They were told to report to the prosecutor's office the keepers, ticket sellers and employes of all rinks found. After tramping all day they could locate only one rink, the one at Thirty-ninth and Main streets.

"Waterman was exceedingly kind to us," Miller says. "He offered to have a boy strap skates on our feet and let us use the skates all afternoon free. I was tempted. There were about 200 people in the rink, boys and girls, young men and women and all were laughing and happy. I wanted to jump in and skate, but Joe advised me not to and I didn't.

"We saw many kids skating on the sidewalks and streets over town Sunday, but we hadn't any orders to take their names. They weren't indoors and, so far as we knew, didn't buy or rent their skates on Sunday."

The Sunday skating question will come before the grand jury this afternoon. The usual 140 theater indictments will also be returned by the jury today.

Labels: amusement, cigars, Judge Wallace, Main street, Prosecutor Kimbrell, skating, Thirty-ninth street

April 27, 1908

ROLLER SKATING VICTIM DEAD.

Chester Caughey Fatally Injured by

Fall on Sidewalk.

Chester Caughey, the 13-year-old boy, whose back was broken in a roller skate fall on the sidewalk last Thursday, died yesterday at his parents' home, 3944 Terrace street. The doctors called his trouble spinal meningitis, but ever since the accident it has been commonly understood that the little fellow's back was broken. Much of the time the boy was delirious with pain.

No one saw the accident and the victim was never sufficiently free from distress to describe it himself. The father, Robert C. Caughey, is manager of the Eagle Manufacturing Company.

Within a week of young Caughey's accident three other young people in the same neighborhood suffered serious bone fractures from falls taken in roller skating on sidewalks.

Labels: children, death, skating, Terrace street.

April 26, 1908

FAIRMOUNT TO OPEN MAY 10.

Some New Features Will Be

Added to the Old.

There will be several new features at Fairmount park, which is to open May 10. Workmen are busy now, remodeling the bowling alley into an open air skating rink which, it is said, will be the largest outdoor rink in the city. The floor capacity of the bowing alley is being doubled. The rink will be convenient to the car lines entering Fairmount park. A nurse will be in charge of the children's playground in the park this summer and will have two assistants who will aid her in caring for the children. There will be new playthings of the kind that children like. Aside from the amusements which are being added, the ones that were in the park last year will be retained.

Labels: amusement, fairmount park, skating

April 23, 1908

THEY'D HAVE LAW ON SKATERS.

Independence People Want to Regu-

late the Rollers' Hours.

Roller skating after 11 o'clock at night is to be prohibited on the streets and sidewalks of Independence if an ordinance now in preparation passes the city council. The new law is proposed by men and women of the residence wards of the city, whose beauty sleep has been rudely yanked from them by gleeful skating parties of men and women, passing by on the sidewalks as late as 11 o'clock of nights. Roller skating parties are all the rage in Independence now, having put in the shade hayrack rides, barn dances and even charade parties, and old folks whose slumbers have been disturbed are many.

The proposed law will not apply to those skating in their own houses or to men skating to work in the morning. One may skate downtown as early as 4:30 o'clock, provided he has rested since 10 o'clock of the night before.

Labels: amusement, Independence, Independence city council, skating

October 23, 1907

"BABY RUTH" SCORES A HIT.

Shetland Pony on Roller Skates

Performed Diffucult Tasks.

The roller skaters of Kansas City had a chance to see a new rival for skating honors in the person of "Baby Ruth," a Shetland pony at the Convention hall rink last night. The pony's trainer, James Benefield, first showed the crowd that "Baby Ruth's" skates were of the regulation kind by sending one of them rolling across the floor. When the pon came into viuew a moment later it was wearing four skates, each of which had four rollers, with the customary ball bearings.

The pony made a tour of the rink floor, keeping close to the outer edge, and then began to move about gracefully in small circles and "figure eights" in the center. If the going was any different from that to which any pony is used, "Baby Ruth" did not give any evidence of it, for all the strokes were made with apparent ease. A well educated dog introduced some clever tricks which furnished a comedy element.

Labels: animals, Convention Hall, skating

January 24, 1907

THE DIRECTORS SKATED.

Bumps Were Frequent at Convention

Hall Last Night.

One of the most noticeable things at a skating rink is the strong attraction of the Human body and the floor. --Bill Nye.

Zip-plunk-plunk-boom.

This was heard around 8 o'clock last evening above the steady rumble of skaters gliding over Convention hall floor. It was J. A. Runyan, who, for the first time in twenty years, put on a pair of roller skates at the skating party given by the directors of Convention hall to members and the families of members of the Commercial Club, the Mercantile Club, the Manufacturers and Merchants' Association and the Kansas City Athletic Club.

There were more than 3,000 who attended this gathering and more than 900 disported themselves on the floor--some like Mr. Runyan. In the crowd were old men with bald heads, fat men, young men and boys, as well as girls and women of many ages, sizes and proportions.
An exhibition in fancy skating was given by Miss Lucille Landsdowne, a professional, and a game of broomball was played between two picked teams, neither of which scored. "Kid" Nichols, of baseball fame, refereed.

A match race between George H. Teftt, president of the Manufacturers and Merchants' Association, and O. V. Dodge, president of the Commercial Club, was scheduled, but Mr. Dodge was out of the city. The party was given as an opening event after the two weeks' cessation of skating at the hall while the Implement Men's convention and the Chicken show was in progress.

Labels: amusement, Commercial Club, Convention Hall, Kansas City Athletic Club, skating