Carol Mullen
Catalog Number: 1996.030.01
Image copyright La Crosse County Historical Society
La Crosse native Nancy Wolf could likely have been spotted enjoying these ice skates here from the 1930s to early 1940s. She reportedly wore them skating on the Mississippi River, and probably at area skating rinks as well.
Though often done, skating on the Mississippi was a chancy form of winter recreation. Ice thickness could change quickly with the current and the weather, and accidents and drownings occurred.
For this reason, several “safe rinks” were established by the city. In 1935-36 La Crosse maintained ten skating rinks: at West Avenue and Jackson, Fifth and Hood, Hogan and Roosevelt Schools, Kane and St. Andrew, 14th and South Avenue, Copeland Park, the Pettibone Lagoon, 16th and Vine, and at Central High School, then located at 16th and Cass. Four new warming house huts were also erected that year, at the Roosevelt, 14th and South Avenue, 16th and Vine, and St. Andrew and Kane Street rinks. The La Crosse Tribune estimated over 100,000 skaters used its rinks during the 1935-36 season.
Ice skating was a wildly popular sport in La Crosse at the time, especially for young people. Area skating rinks were a place to meet friends, flirt with sweethearts, exchange gossip, and hang out, all while having fun during the long Wisconsin winters.
Nancy’s black leather skates were a quality brand called North Star, manufactured by Nestor Johnson of Chicago. They probably date from the 1930s, and would have cost about $95 in today’s money. Called “tubular skates”, they were designed with a stabilizing metal tube below the shoe portion of the skate and connected to the blade. An extra leather strap provided support.
Nancy Wolf was born in La Crosse in 1922, the daughter of Dr. Herman Wolf and his wife Eva. She lived in the city throughout her youth and young adulthood, when these skates were likely used. A busy career in museum work took her to San Francisco, Boston, Denver, and Washington D.C. Nancy also married and raised a family. She retired to La Crosse in 1992, and was active in La Crosse County Historical Society and the Preservation Alliance until her death in 1996.
Obviously worn and well loved, these skates are in original condition except for the replacement laces. If they could talk, they would tell the story of an adventurous young woman who spent many La Crosse winters on the ice.
This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on December 28, 2019.
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