Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-02-11
ROLLER SKATING.
The Rise and Fall of the Pastime-Phe
Fortunes Made During the Craze.

The great, empty, barn-like structures
the skating rinks-which last season
were alive with thousands of busy skat-
ers, are very quiet now Here and
there in the city can be found one that
is making an effort to keep open, but
the attendance is very poor, and the at
fractions that last Winter would have
brought out thousands are bringing but
few to the Kinks this season. The
''craze" is over. 1t was a very profitable
one for the manufacturers of roller skates
and the owners of Kinks last year.
There We're Kinks in this city that made
thousands of dollars. Last year Frank
Hall, the proprietor of the Olympian
Rink, in Philadelphia, and who owned
factory for making roller skates, sold
100000 pairs of skates. This year he
has sold none, and has closed his fac
tory. Mr.. Hall says that, though the
''craze" is over, it is mistake to think
that roller skating as an amusement is
to die out. When the craze has en-
tirely subsidized roller skating will be re-
duced to the limits of a pastime upon
which legitimate business ventures may
be made.
Nothing connected with the ''craze"
is more curious than the manner in
which 1t affected the trade in lockwood,
maple and hemlock. The lockwood
was found to be the best material from
which to manufacture the rollers. In
consequence, last year that wood Jump
ed up from S26 a ton to $40, and one
firm, by fortunate purchase just before
the market took an upward turn, made
Sl7 900 in less than two weeks. The
market was stripped almost bare of
lockwood for time, and thousands and
thousands of tons were made up into
rollers in few months. Boxwood is
selling now at S18 ton, and the price
is still going down. So enormous did
the proportions of the infatuation for
roller-skating become that companies
with hundreds of thousands of dollars
as capital were formed for the purpose
OF constructing Kinks in small cities all
over the country These Kinks were
built for the most part of hemlock, and
so extensive were the operations that
this lumber, notwithstanding the i'm
mense supply, made advances until the
market at one time showed that its
per cent by the large operations of the
construction companies. Since last year
the price of hemlock has fallen off 80
per cent because the building of the
Kinks had to be stopped. One of these
construction companies in ten months
divided profits of 100000. The plan
of the managers was to build rink in
promising locality, run ii few weeks,
and then sell out TO local spectators.
Maple was found to be the best wood
with which to construct the rink floors,
and this lumber jumped up to $50 and
$50 thousand feet.
1t is an interesting fact that the roll
er-skating craze would have come long
ago but for the patent. For seventeen
years after the skate was patented not a
skate was sold, and vet the patentee in
that time made 100000. Eben
Plimpton was the lucky fellow who first
conceived the idea of the roller, and he
made all the roller skates used during
the years his patent ran, and rented
them out TO skating-rink managers. He
always made the contracts read that he
should receive 10 per cent of the admis-
sion receipts and all the money for the
rental of the skates. OF course, roller
skating did not flourish under these cir
cumstances, but the amusement was
popular enough to keep small Kinks in
large cities, and Mr. Plimpton made
money. As soon as the patent expired
and skates could be made by any one
the craze started, and started in
Richmond Ind. M. C. Henley started
the manufacture of roller skates in a
little wood-shed in that city. The
skates became popular, and he enlarged
his shops until now he has factory of
over 400 feet in length and one in which
many workmen are employed. He has
made a round million of dollars in the
business. PittSbtrg Chronicle.