It's been a long time since I put on a pair of roller skates, but back in the day, I logged a lot of hours in my driveway trying to keep them on! I'm thinking these with the closed toe might have been either before or after my time. Maybe they didn't require as much time with that hateful skate key!
I found these at Charm on 2nd Avenue downtown.
16 comments:
I say way before your time. The trick was to wear saddle shoes. The thick soles provided a natural shelf for the skate clamps to hold on to. Our neighborhood had roving bands of roller skaters looking for steep driveways or little hills to add to the thrill of moving at the speed of sound.
We had the skate key version. I still have a clear memory of having to crank on the key pretty hard to get the skates to stay on running shoes. In fact they wouldn't stay on.
j'aime bien ces patins a roulettes, je préféré ca aux Rollers ou j'arrive pas a tenir dessus ;)
Cool! Skating down memory lane.
Mine (well, my big brothers') had no such toes. But they had ball bearings and the wheels were coated with rubber, so they were quiet and smooth on the sidewalks of Chicago.
I too remember these and agree with Oakland that you needed sturdy shoes for the best results. This kind of photo reminds me of kids I had in my class once whom I overheard saying, "You know those canvas high-top All Stars? They used to wear them to play basketball!"
They had them BEFORE your time?
Wow...those are bringing back memories! I remember ditching my old, challenging roller skates for something else with wheels, but newer and cooler: a skatebord.
I had a pair with 'toe clamps' but once you tightened them they never got loose ... l love this photo, so many memories of scraped knees!
Oh I do remember especially my knees...
I had the ones with the key. I remember also that the steel wheels lost their running surface very quick. Later came the nylon ones. A nice picture in memory lane.
Beautifully done in black & white! I never skated, if my feet are not directly touching the ground, then there's another part of me that is!
I'm glad I found you. I'll share your link with cousins near Alabaster. here is my link to part one of my visit to Vulcan while in Birmingham.
http://waverlytotahoe.blogspot.com/2011/10/vulcan.html
nellie
I remember these! I use to have a pair just like them.
I have never seen these closed toe ones but sure remember the clamp and key ones - my knees sure remember what happened when the skate came loose! Great memories.
I love all of your comments. I'm glad these old skates brought back so many memories.
Nellie, Glad you stopped in . I'd love for you and your cousins to follow my blogs!
OMG, everybody in the neighborhood used this kind when I was a kid. One size fits almost all.
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