St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-03-13
ROLLER SKATING.
The Rise and Fall of the Pastime-Thl
Fortunes Made During tho Craze.

1lAue TIC CEUz0s
The great, empty. barn-like struct-
ures-the skating rinks-which last
season were alive with thousands Of
busy skaters, 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 attractions that last year
would have brought out thousands are
bringing but few to the rinks this sea-
son. The 'craze" is over. 1t was
very profitable one for the manufacture
ers of roller skates and the owners of
rinks last year. There were rinks in
this city that made thousands of dol.
lars. Last year Frank Hall, the pro-
prietor of tho Olympian Rink, in Phila-
delphia, and who owned factory for
making roller skates, sold one hundred
thousand 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 a mistake to think
that roller skating as an amusement is
to die out. When the .'craze' has en-
tirely subsidized roller skating will be
reduced to the limits of pastime upon
which legitimate business ventures
may be made.
Nothing connected with the "craze"
is more curious than the manner in
which it 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
jumped up from $40 a ton to $40, and
one firm, By a fortunate purchase just
before the market took an upward turn,
made $1,000 in less than two weeks.
The market was stripped almost bare
of lockwood for time, and thousands
and thousands of tons were madc
up into rollers in few months.
Boxwood is selling now at SIS q
ton, and The price is still going down.
So enormous did the proportions
of the infatuation for roller-skating
become that companies with hum
dreds of thousands of dollars as capital
were formed for the purpose of con-
struc.inm rinks in small cities all over
the country. These rinks were built
for the most part of hemlock. and so
extensive were the operations that this
lumber. Notwithstanding the immense
supply. made advances until the market
at one time showed that its value had
been increased Mt least % per cent. by
the large operations of the construction
companies. Since 1884 the price OF
hemiock has fallen off so per cent. be-
cause the building of the rinks 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 il few weeks, and then
sell it ont 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 s55
thousand feet.
1t is an interesting fact that the
..roller-Skating craze" would have come
long ago bat for the patent. For seven
teen years after the skate was patented
not skate was sold, and yet the
patentcc in that time made $4,000 900.
Eben Piimpton 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 skatlng-rlnk
managers. He always made the con-
tracts read that he should receive ten
per cent of the admission receipts and
all the money for the rental of the
skates OF course. roller skating did
not flourish under these circumstances,
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.
A citizen of that place started the
manufacture of roller skates in 4 little
wood-shed. The skates became popular,
and he enlarged his shops until he had
factory of over four hundred feet in
length and one in which many work
men are employed. He has made a
round million of dollars in the business.
p,IJS S.nrrb fhroniclp