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Groton, South Dakota |
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Groton, South Dakota |
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General Information Information for Skaters The
new warming house is done! |
Figure
skating has been an important part of the Groton, South Dakota
community for many years. Groton’s utilization of its cold winter
temperatures for a positive community activity for youth and adults
alike is a testament to this area’s “can do” attitude. But not
only has the community offered figure skating as an outdoor form of
recreation for many years, it boasts the unique tradition of a
long-standing, annual outdoor figure skating show. Groton's
annual winter event has become the most colorful outdoor affair of
its kind and one of the most elaborate outdoor ice carnivals in the
entire country. Let us share the rich
history of the Carnival of Silver Skates. In
the winter of 1938,
having just improved an ice
skating rink, the community of Groton decided to hold an ice
skating carnival. On January 23, Groton skaters, both young and
old, together with skaters invited from nearby towns, participated
in this very first event. It consisted of skating races, figure
and stunt skating, and an exhibition by Aberdeen skaters under the
direction of Mr. Russell E. Easton. Mr.
Easton personally skated in Groton’s show for 17 years and
volunteered many hours to further skating in Groton. For this first
event music was reported to have been furnished by a phonograph
through a loud speaker. There were no costumes and the only
decorations were people’s leftover Christmas trees in the banks of
snow surrounding the rink. Some estimated the attendance to be
between 1000 and 1500 people. The day concluded with a hockey game
between Aberdeen teams. Reports indicated that the carnival would
encourage the organizing of a local hockey team, as teams were
flourishing in nearby towns. Groton’s Ice Carnival has since been
held each year, except during the World War II years of 1940, 1943,
1944 and 1945. In
1939 the first warming
house was made available for the Carnival. It had no indoor bathroom
facilities. In addition, that year, movie camera buff’s were
present to record the festivities and the entire show was shown
later at the local theatre. In
1941 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped with
decorations, lights, scenery and a royalty throne. They also helped
to provide a hot dog stand. In
1942
costumes were added to the show, with skaters responsible for
finding their own costumes for many years. The Groton Booster Club
and Boosterettes joined with the “area” figure skating clubs to
bring in a large Hollywood spotlight, making it possible to have
both an afternoon and evening performance. In
1946 a
parade was included and was composed of floats from the elementary
and rural schools. Also baton twirlers displayed their talents and
the Lazy Farmers 4-H Club performed a skit. A cast of seven skaters
from the Minneapolis Figure Skating Club presented five different
numbers at the January 20 show. By
1947 there were four performances for the two-day event with
a reported total of 12,000 spectators. The Sunday afternoon
performance boasted an attendance of 4000 to 5000 people. Aberdeen
spectators could even ride an Aberdeen city bus to Groton to see the
show at a cost of $1 for the round trip. The
1948 program again included guest skaters from the
Minneapolis Figure Skating Club. It
was in this year that snow blocks were cut from the school lot and
used to build a snow castle or igloo on the north side of the rink,
complete with red and green lighting during the evening performances.
The following year ice blocks were cut from Amsden Lake and a throne
was set up on the west side. During
the 1950s sweaters and corduroy skating skirts were popular.
This costume trend carried through into the 1960’s. Also in
the early 1950s, the City of Groton purchased spotlights for use
during the evening performances. In 1950 & 1951, guest
skaters from many places, including Jamestown, ND; Minneapolis, MN;
and Aberdeen & Watertown were being attracted and taking part in
this now popular outdoor winter sports event. It was in 1952
that the rink was enlarged to 200 feet by 90 feet, which provided a
larger skating area as well as more parking spaces for spectators’
cars. Also during this decade a brooder house was bought to the
scene to provide a changing area for the boys. This was the first
year that our royalty included both a king and a queen. In 1955,
Susan Clawson from Groton won the South Dakota Figure Skating
Championship. Susan shared her talents during her many years as a
participant and later as a show director, by teaching a number of
young skaters the basic skills required to advance to higher levels
of skills. In
the 1960s raffle tickets were sold to help raise funds for
the show. In 1966 a Mustang car was the raffle prize. During
the 60s, guest skaters and guest directors were brought in from
Minneapolis skating clubs to help build skills and provide a fresh
perspective to the program. Unfortunately, in 1969, the
warming house was destroyed by a tornado. Thanks to the generosity
of Roy Richards, who donated the original warming house to the
community of Groton, a new warming house for the city was built.
Fortunately, the scenery and decorations survived this storm. In
the 1970s a lack of enough male skaters resulted in our royalty being a
queen only. By this decade the variety of high school sports for the
boys made it difficult for them to continue with their skating
activities. The
1980s decade brought a number of changes, added
performances, and a special celebration. In 1982 the
Groton Skating Club parents took over complete sponsorship of the
carnival after many years of various local clubs such as the Groton
Kiwanis, the Groton Lions, and Groton Jaycees helping with
sponsorship. In 1983
the Groton High School art department redesigned the scenery, the
warming house interior was spruced up, the outdoor speakers were
repaired, and new rink lights were installed. Beginning in 1984
and 1985, the Carnival of Silver Skates presented their entire
show indoors at the 50th
Anniversary Celebration:
In 1988 Governor
George S. Mickelson issued an executive proclamation stating that
the days of January 30 & 31 would be known as the “Carnival of
Silver Skates Days” in Groton’s
125th Celebration:
In 2007
the wooden sleigh historically used to pull the royalty of the
Carnival around the rink following coronation was reinforced,
repainted, and the aging sleigh runners were mounted on wooden
runners with small wheels underneath so that it could be pulled in
the parade commemorating Groton’s 125th anniversary
celebration. This work
was completed by the committee for the 2008 Carnival along with the
construction work of In
the 2007 spring flooding in Groton, the warming house received minor damage to the flooring. In
addition the Carnival costumes stored there sustained major damage.
Some were ruined and the balance required cleaning. The wooden
backdrop for the Carnival was refurbished by the Jim Lane
family during 2007, and repainted with an ice castle theme during
2007, in preparation for the 2008 Carnival. Paula Kokales did the
majority of the artistic painting, with some help from Jan Hoffman
and and a little from In
2008, the big ice skate displayed on top of the warming house during
ice skating season received damage when it was accidently tipped
over while being stored in the warming house and had to be
refurbished. Jim Lane
once again came to the rescue, replacing part of the side wall on
the skate and strengthening the frame underneath. The paint and
sparkles on the skate were then touched up by current committee
members by Paula Kokales and Melodee Lane. The 2009 show was billed as the last performance at the current rink location. The rink and warming house had been located next to the Groton Area High School since 1938. The pond and warming house are the property of the City of Groton, whose employees maintain the facilities to provide safe and free skating for the Community. Without the dedication and support of those employees throughout the years, the Carnival of Silver Skates would simply never have been possible. Later
in 2009, the City did indeed move forward with moving move the ice skating rink to the west side of
Groton near the soccer fields and baseball complex. The property at
the previous site was deeded to the Groton Area School District
and is being transformed into a parking lot for the expanding school system. The Carnival of Silver Skates committee was instrumental in the planning and building of the new ice skating rink and warming house, with the help of their partner organization, the Groton Soccer Association. Once again, the City of Groton played a vital role. Please see "about the project" for more information. Over
the decades, the ice
carnival has provided training, sportsmanship and participation in
a healthy outdoor winter activity for the youth and adults of
Groton. Throughout the years we have been extremely fortunate to
have had a variety of local people and organizations help with this
long-standing tradition. Many past skaters will remember the
dedicated city employees that kept the ice in great shape and those
special people who ran the warming house while lacing skates,
playing music, and keeping order. For many years Bob Wegner (an
original 1938 show participant) sold, traded and sharpened skates
for our show participants. Our dedicated volunteers over the years
have redesigned the scenery, raised funds to refurbish the skating
rink and equipment, designed and made increasingly glitzy costumes,
given lessons, choreographed routines, laced skates, warmed fingers
and toes, and on and on. Just think of the changes over the
years from the way we now play our music and heat the warming house.
Today’s skaters aren’t familiar with the LP & 45 records,
8-track tapes, or cassette tapes not to mention the potbelly stove
that used to warm icy mittens. Ice-skating is a lifetime activity
and in Groton it is one that gives lasting memories to approximately
100 children each year. Thanks to a strong community (one rich with
tradition), our children can still enjoy the same thrills as did our
1938 founders: gliding
across that ice pond; doing a few loop-de-luz; performing for moms,
dads, grandmas and grandpas; the thrill of skating under the
spotlights at night; taking the ice for the final time as a senior;
and taking that final bow during the finale to the resounding
applause from car horns honking in appreciation and pride of another
show well done. Today, the carnival is supported by its own non-profit organization, which consists of parents of skaters and other community volunteers, depending solely on donations, skating fees and admission fees during the Carnival. Skaters starting at age four up to seniors in high school are able to participate in the carnival. A highlight of the first show each year is the crowning of the new reigning Queen. The Queen is currently elected by all skaters in the show. Candidates include all high school juniors and seniors participating in the show. The future of the Carnival of Silver Skates lies in the hands of the Groton community, as it has from its inception by an ambitious, giving group of founders with a vision and a “can do” attitude. There are few events in our community that provide the opportunity for learning a unique skill, true teamwork where all participants can take part equally, and having an audience “see what they can do.” In this day of competition with other school activities and sports, it is important to reflect on the benefits of this program and the community value of this long-standing Groton tradition. The Carnival continues to be a big event in Groton and one which is unique from any other surrounding communities. A
special thanks to Jeanne Wegner Wanous for providing much of the
above history. |
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