The Simmerlings spent many a frigid day at Michael Kirby's. The collosal effort to get everyone dressed, transported, re-dressed and ready to skate must have been worth it. The rink had a magical attraction.
The ice was opaque and milky-bluish white, filled with sharp cuts and snow cone shavings. Stepping on to it for the first time, it was as exhilarating as seeing the grass at Wrigley or Comiskey. But it did have its down sides.
My mother would lace my black skates so tight it was hard to tell if my feet were numb from the cold or from the lack of circulation. It was probably both. And the wool socks worn under our skates just made things worse; they were thick, stiff, and scratchy. Worn right on our bare feet. We didn't even know you could wear cotton socks under them. I guess real skaters didn't.
Shivering between blue lips and chattering teeth, we had to watch my older sister pretend she was Peggy Fleming. In her fluffy sweater and mittens, she would breeze past us, gracefully skating backwards and cutting sharp circles in the ice. Showing off. My brother and I knew it was just the skates.
I seemed to always be sitting on the ice in a heap, hoping no one would skate over my fingers. My skates were on too tight for me to stand up.
We had a pair of those skates with the double blades, which were usually placed on my poor brother's feet. His glasses would fog up even before the tears began to flow.
Great fun or not, it was certainly a lasting memory of the true Chicago experience.
The only thing we were missing was Elizbeth Freckly Dawn Ron, locked in a great skating competition against Kristy Yamaguci.
Here is an article from the Chicago Tribune today on whatever happened to John Kirby's ice skating rinks in town.
"In the 1950s, Kirby, a Canadian national champion ice skater and member of the touring Ice Follies group, was lured to the Windy City by Sonja Henie, his well-known skating partner, and Arthur Wirtz, who owned the Chicago Stadium, where Henie's ice shows were a local favorite. After working with some of the world's best ice skaters, Kirby decided it was time to give average people a chance.
... He opened his first ice skating studio in River Forest, in a former garage near Lake Street and Harlem Avenue. At the time, there were fewer than 100 artificially refrigerated ice rinks across the country -- but that was about to change..."
See the link here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wht-micheal-kirby-skating-w-jan15,0,4271682.column
We would go to Michael Kirby's on Loomis Avenue. Lots of fun skating, except when they had "couples only" numbers. The organist would play Skaters Waltz and movie themes from the day, such as "Exodus". There were bleachers on the South end of the rink. I remember the hot chocolate they served.
ReplyDeleteIn 1959, I was eight years old when my mother, Ruth, brought us to Michael Kirby's for the first time( older sister Ruth Anne, younger sister Mary Catherine and my little brother, Joey.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first entered the "wood stockade-type" building (with the huge outdoor ice rink), a man greeted us as we came inside. I was told his name was Stan Mikita (the Blackhawks new rookie).
Kirby's quickly became the center of our
young lives. We would spend most Saturdays and Sundays (after mass)skating with our friends [ the Conroys, the McGuires, Bill Stewart, Linda Paulsen, Maria Farski, Wally Pastch, Chuck Pastch (US Marine later),Roy Krieger, Mrs. Reidy].
Who could forget the Saturday morning races! My brother and I were usually the fastest and would win a free pass for the next day. God, those were some of the best days that I will always remember!
Oh, and the red haired organist who sat in the cold booth located in the outdoor bleachers was my mom's cousin, Frances Phillips.
If any of you reading this remember our family or our Kirby "family", please send me an e-mail!
(tom_cal16@yahoo.com)I look forward to hearing from you.
I used to shine shoes in the taverns on Ashland Ave to affornd going skating there. I loved that place. I remember the sweaty hands I would get when I could muster up the courage to ask a pretty girl to skate. I wonder how many times I got kicked off the ice for racing? How about sneaking a cig under the stands? I must be getting old remembering the good old days
ReplyDeleteJack Murphy jjmurphy53@yahoo.com
Was Kirby's indoor or out, can't remember.
ReplyDeleteInddor
Delete75 th & Loomis was both indoors (for lessons) and outdoors for the rest of us. Rites of passage when you got to eighth grade you could go on Friday nights.
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