Roller Skating and Skate Keys: A Nostalgic Blast from the Past

Roller skating has been a beloved pastime enjoyed by generations of kids and adults alike. It’s hard to believe that the first use of roller skates was in a London stage performance way back in 1743!

John Joseph Merlin, a London resident in 1760, deserves the credit for inventing the first skates. Roller skates have certainly come a long way since then!

In the United States, roller skating gained popularity as a pastime in 1935. But it wasn’t until the introduction of skating rinks playing disco music in the 1970s that roller skating became a huge trend. It seemed like everyone wanted to hit the rinks and groove to the music!

Speaking of roller skating, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Do you remember those heavy metal skates that you could attach to your shoes? They were quite the fashion statement back in the day. But there’s something else that you might remember if you were a skater before the 1970s – the iconic skate key.

This copper-colored object was an essential accessory for anyone with roller skates. At first glance, it may look like a bottle opener or some kind of tool, but it is actually a skate key. With the skate key, you could adjust the size of your skates by fitting it into the back of the pair. And to make sure they didn’t get lost while skating, most people wore the key around their necks. It was a small but significant part of the roller skating experience.

Skate keys were such an integral part of roller skating that there have even been songs written about them! They symbolize a time when roller skating was a cherished activity, filled with fun and memories.

So, do you remember skate keys? We’d love to hear your skating stories on our Facebook page. Let’s share this delightful blast from the past with others who may have fond memories of roller skating and skate keys too!

Melissa Gilbert left Los Angeles for a simple cottage life in the Catskills: See inside her happy life now

It is truly amazing when child actors grow up in front of the eyes of the audience. We see them become stars and celebrate their every success as though it’s our own.I bet most of you remember the children of the Ingalls family from Little House on the Prairie. If you do, you must be wondering where they are today and what they are up to.The second oldest daughter of the family, Laura Ingalls, was played by actress Melissa Gilbert, who captured the hearts of the fans and became an acting sensation almost overnight. Well, more or less like the rest of the cast. Melissa was featured in commercials and had some minor roles before taking the part in Little House on the Prairie. During the run of the series, she played parts in other films including The Diary of Anne Frank and The Miracle Worker.

Born on on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, California, Melissa was given up for adoption by her parents who each had three children from their previous marriages and feared they couldn’t provide for another child. Melissa was lucky to be welcomed into the life of her adoptive parents, actor Paul Gilbert and actress/dancer Barbara Crane, from whom she learned all about the entertainment business.

In 2015, Melissa took a role in the short film One Smart Fellow, and played in Secret and Lies and The Night Shift some years before. She is also a writer. Her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir speaks of the period of her life during the famous series.

As she goes back to the time of filming the series, she recalls she had a fun time with the rest of the crew.Portraying a girl living on a farm seemed exciting back then, and it looks like Melissa got to love that way of living so she and her husband, actor-director Timothy Busfield, moved from Michigan to new home in New York a few years ago and even bought a hunting cabin and considered getting chickens and building a barn for goats and horses, she revealed during a virtual Television Critics Association panel focusing on the PBS American Masters biography “Laura Ingalls Wilder.” However, the coronavirus pandemic forced them to put their plans on hold.

Today, however, they do live in the cabin and their days seem picture perfect. The place needed a full renovation, but despite the challenges, they were determined to turn the place into a comfortable home.

The first step was getting rid of the staff the previous owners left there. Next, they needed to get rid of the rodents and mildew and fix the plumbing.

They refurbished the cabinets, installed red vinyl chairs, and heated the house with a wood fire.

Gilbert and her husband grow their own fruits and vegetables.

The actress loves her peaceful home and the challenges that living at such a place brings. She copes with her responsibilities with a smile on her face and enjoys a cup of tea at the end of each day.