Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 11:15:02 -0800
From: John Lincoln/DCOM <jl@cypress.com>
Subject: Squaw Valley skating
Sender: jl@kes.design
To: jfarris@ColoradoCollege.edu

I am not really a Squaw Valley summer training alumnus but I am a long
time skater at Blyth. Many of the local San Francisco troops I recall
would go off to Sun Valley for summer training; tests were reputed to
be easier to pass there than anywhere else. Perhaps I should have
tested my loops there...

I saw a few familiar names in your Squaw Valley text; Juli McKinstry,
Barbara Ray, Tammy Gambill, Ricky Inglesi, Russell Sessions and of
course, Wendy Burge, Charlie Tickner, Karen Magnussen, the Grogans
and Skippy Baxter; Skippy Baxter was rumored to have done triple axels
as early as 1955. The earliest triple axel I have seen a film record
of was by David Jenkins sometime around 1960; a very clean one, I often
wonder why he never attempted it in competition.

Barbara Ray was a member of the Skating Club of San Francisco at the
same time I was, although she was much younger than me. I want to say
the same of Juli McKinstry but now I'm not so sure about that even
though I recall the name; I can't really recall if she was in the SFSC.
I was aware that Barbara Ray was national junior champ at one time but
I was not aware that Juli McKinstry was also. The last reference I can
find for her is senior ladies at Nationals in 1975 representing the
Broadmoor SC. I can recall Barbara Ray's mother in San Francisco but
not Juli McKinstry's.

The description of the McKinstry and Tickner households hosting skaters
sounds a little like the Lill household in Minnesota years ago; Peg and
Mary Lill coached me at one time and described their mother "adopting"
skaters for summer training. The most prominent of these was Donny
Jackson whom I first met in San Francisco while he was with the Follies.
He and other headliners often turned up at the Sutro's rink in the City
since the Show summered at Winterland in San Francisco for ten weeks
each year.

You may recall some other names from the San Francisco area although
these are from the late 50s and early 60s. Michelle Monnier, Mary
Crowley, Elouise Morgan, Ellen Kulman, Mary McDermott, Nancy Sheldon,
Trudy Sills, Ed Jackson, Laurie and Bill Hickox (unfortunately on the
plane in 1961; they were third in pairs at 61 Nationals and Bill was
an Air Force Academy cadet at the the time), Alan Schramm, Barry Munns,
Jessica Kuzmanich, Sam Singer, Dennis Alvernaz (oddly enough, now the
Catholic pastor at Yosemite), Ed Murray... As for myself, I didn't
start skating until I was 13; just too late in the game to be really
successful.

If you are not already aware of it, I am sorry to say that Blyth Arena
no longer exists. Summer skating and even some of the winter skating
there was always memorable. One winter, a few years ago, so much snow
was allowed to accumulate on the roof that the place collapsed. I think
this was done purposely since the ski area operator had always been
agitating to get the arena torn down and dedicate that real estate to
ski area parking; now they have their parking acreage. The same thing
happened about 1963 to the Olympic 400 meter speed skating track from
1960. This track was right next to the open end of the arena. Some
of the California speed skaters that I knew were pleading with then gov.
Pat Brown to preserve the track; the only mechanically frozen 400 meter
track in the country at the time. Even now, I think there are only four
or five such tracks in the U.S. Continues to amaze me that our cousins,
the American speedskaters, do so well internationally in spite of this.

There is a new rink at Squaw Valley now; at 8200 feet - at the top of
what I call the cattle car tramway. Haven't skated there yet; the last
time I skied at Squaw Valley, it was a white-out by about 13:00 so I
passed on skating that day since the roof, which is really just a summer
sunshade, is removed in the winter. It can't be any more fun skating
in a white-out than skiing in one. I often skated at Squaw Valley
with no altitude problem but I don't know how I would fare at the higher
altitude. The highest altitude I have skated at is 7600 ft.; at Aspen.
Don't recall that it was a problem there. I've skied as high as 11,700
ft. without difficulty.

06:30 patch at Blyth Arena? Brrrrr. Had to be worse than 06:00 patch
at the old Sutro's rink in San Francisco. When I was in college, I came
in at 05:15 to surface for patch, let the kids in, hit my books for an
hour and then sometimes skate the freeskate time before heading off to
classes. Don't how I managed to do that for several semesters; I am not
a morning person. Mostly gave up figures by that time, though, never
was very good at loops - my downfall. The skaters wanted me to do the
surfacing for patch since they knew I always did the job as if I had to
test or compete on it myself; true. Once competed in ISIA at 07:00
about 20 years ago; skating early was still painful. I am now going to
have to bite the bullet and start skating in the early mornings again,
though, since I am considering competing again now that adult level
competitions seem to be taking hold and 'ya don't got to do no figgurs'.
Just recently went up to South San Francisco to order some new boots
from S.P. Teri. The turn-around time is still six weeks even now.

Don't know if you skated in the San Francisco area but if you did, you
may recall the name Ed Hedberg. He sharpened my skates in the 50s and
early 60s and I learned recently that he still does this; as a business
now as well as other skating related businesses such as blade mounting.
Spent a number of hours at his home recently talking over our years of
skating. Ed turned up on local TV news when Debi Thomas was skating
at the Calgary Olympics. Ed was the only one she would let sharpen her
skates then like many local skaters. I was wondering who to have mount
my 666 Gold Seals on the new boots; no contest now; Ed tells me that
those old blades are still in good shape.

-jl John

Back to Squaw Valley Memories page