2441

Skate, ice

1900 Approximate

Metal Shoe Clamp Skate. Material: metal, leather. Size: 3 1/4" W. x 11 1/4" L. x 3 1/2" H. Description: (pair) metal blade bolted to an adjustable metal sole, adjusting screw located between toe and heel; toe piece designed to clamp to shoe; leather heel with strap and buckle to secure around ankle.

Toys & Games. These skates were a gift to Carrie Skiff (Mrs. William Wood) in gratitude for thoughtfulness during a tragedy which occurred in Alden when she was a young girl. Carrie was working at a telephone switchboard when she glanced out of a window & saw a young lad walking across the lake. It was in the spring & the ice being unsafe, she watched the boy. Near the opposite shore he did fall through the ice. She immediately summoned help but it was too late to save the boy's life & the rescuers had difficulty in locating the body. Carrie remembered about a man who owned a ferret. Many fellows did in those days (early 1900s). The man brought the ferret & helped to locate the boy. In gratitude the parents told Carrie to go to the hardware store & buy the best pair of skates available. She did. But when this story was told to us, Carrie said "I never used them very much. I couldn't. I was too tender-hearted."