“Meanwhile, with many a vigorous puff and pull, the brother and sister, for such they were, seemed to be fastening something to their feet—not skates, certainly, but clumsy pieces of wood narrowed and smoothed at their lower edge, and pierced with holes, through which were threaded strings of rawhide.” ~ Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates By Mary Mapes Dodge
Old Skates
New Englanders are all familiar with cold weather and skating on frozen ponds, and in particular on Cape Cod, skating on frozen cranberry bogs. Margot Fitsch recalls in her oral history on our YouTube channel, “parents preferred the bogs as you couldn’t fall through very deep.”
This nifty skate pair had shaped leather shoe covers and adjustable straps. Very modern!
Compare with an updated skate of today…
