I’m excited to share that my book, Chicago Roller Skating History: 1880-2025, is published! It is the only book published about Chicago’s roller skating legacy. For some reason, the image creator is not showing the full book cover after several attempts but here it is. You can see the full cover and book summary at… Read More »
I’m presenting Chicago Roller Skating History at 7 pm at Oak Lawn Public Library on Tuesday, February 12th. Hope to see you there!
Chris Campbell wants to know. Read the comment he left. I am from St. Anselm Skating Rink. I first skated when i was 7 years old and I was hooked ever since. I remember the organ music; the year was 1971-72. I also remember working there and learning all of the business. If you skated… Read More »
How We Roll Event Remember when I posted the save the date to commemorate the very first day black people were able to roller skate indoors in Chicago. It’s 80 years later and there’s still a pretty big roller skate community in the windy city. This will be an educational program followed by skating.… Read More »
When you hear about public housing in Chicago, you mostly negative stuff – struggle, poverty, violence, gangs and drugs. You rarely hear stories about two-parent families, adults encouraging young people to go school and get jobs, and good neighborly relations within those complexes. Yes, that did exist. Now, tales that you won’t hear about unless… Read More »
Altgeld Gardens is one of those little known places where people roller skated in Chicago for two reasons. First, Altgeld is a community located on Chicago’s far south side with limited access to public transportation. Second, it was a community where residents were not very trusting of outsiders. But the people who lived in Altgeld… Read More »