ASK JACKSON

The Southeast Missourian asked people about their experiences at the skating rink in Jackson.

Mary Johnson: "We lived between Patton and Marble Hill, and we looked forward to going to the skating rink on Saturday night. This was about 1954 to 1958. I probably had more bumps and bruises than most people."

Lettie Westrich: "I tried it a couple of times back in the '50s and got my back end busted. Our whole church group from Little Whitewater Baptist went skating one time, and my preacher got his arm broken. That's when I realized I was getting too old for that."

Bulah Propst: "I used to take my two boys to skate, and for a while it was every week. We lived near Sedgewickville. I would sometimes skate a little, probably five or six times, but held on close to the wall. I fell down some."

Ivan Davis: "I would come in from the New Bethel area and used to skate pretty good. I took my kids and we skated together. We used clamp-on skates on our shoes. Sometimes the skates came off while I was going as fast as I could go, and that would hurt."

Peggy Benson: "I remember making chains with about ten skaters. That's how I learned to skate. The better skaters would be in front and we skated along holding hands. They used to have a band play on Saturday night. You could dance in the back room or go skating."