Fashionista: The Mary Wills Story

Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell

"Designing for the Ice Follies is like painting in action. Ice Follies has the greatest scope and the fastest pace of any form of theatrical entertainment. I consider this one of the biggest challenges of my career." - Mary Wills

The daughter of Mary (Champie) and Dr. Euclid Clarence 'Doc' Wills, Mary Lillian Wills was born July 4, 1914 in Prescott, Arizona. Her father was a family physician and when Mary was a teenager, his work brought the family to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Left: Dr. Euclid Clarence Wills. Right: Mary Wills. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Mary studied theater and art at the University Of Arizona and University Of New Mexico. She was described as having a "bubbling personality [and] astonishing vitality" by her Theta sorority sisters. After completing her studies, she went east to New York City - ignoring the advice of her family and friends - with big dreams of being a big actress, or failing that, a set designer. She maade ends meet by working as a counter salesperson at Saks Fifth Avenue then got her first big break - a scholarship to enter Yale University's Art And Drama School. She earned her masters there and made history as the first woman to graduate from the Costume Design department. Her very first job out of Yale was designing costumes for an ice show in New Haven, Connecticut.

The lure of designing costumes for the silver screen brought Mary to Hollywood. Her exceptional talent for costume design led her to design dresses for plays, summer stock companies, operas, television and film. She even created uniforms for the staff of the Space Needle Restaurant in Seattle. Legendary actresses like Bette Davis and Joan Collins wore her creations. Her many film credits included "The Diary Of Anne Frank", "The Virgin Queen", "Funny Girl", "Hans Christian Anderson" and "Paint Your Wagon". She received no less than seven Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design between 1952 and 1976, winning the coveted award in 1962 for her work on the MGM film "The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm." Like Midas, anything she touched turned to gold. In Hollywood, they called her special flair for fashion 'The Wills Touch'.

Mary Wills' fashions for Ice Follies skaters. Photos courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

Largely passed over is Mary's role in shaping the fashions of professional figure skating. She began working as a costume designer for the Ice Follies in 1962, at a time when the show was already hugely popular. With a whopping four hundred thousand dollar budget, Mary and her team at the company's Hollywood costume shop took the look of the tour's skaters to a whole new level of glamour.

Left: Eddie Shipstad and Mary Wills. Right: Mary Wills at the drawing board. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

Mary had lace imported from Belgium and Luxembourg, marabou feathers and ostrich plumes brought in from Africa and white swans breast and stripped peacock feathers delivered from India. Working with everything from nylon tulle to Thai silk, the gowns she created for the women featured in Richard Dwyer's famous Young Debonair act had jaws dropping. In 1966, she remarked, "I used to think the skates hampered me as a designer but now I see them as an advantage. They give you height where you need it - in a long leg line. That's better than putting a tall hat on a little girl."

Mary Wills' fashions for Ice Follies skaters. Photos courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

Mary left her position at the Ice Follies in the capable hands of Helen Colvig in 1967 and moved on to other projects but one of her very last jobs before retiring in 1983 was designing Dorothy Hamill's dresses for the television production "The Nutcracker: A Fantasy On Ice". She died of renal failure in Sedona, Arizona at the age of eighty two on February 7, 1997, her contributions to figure skating fashion largely overlooked.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

The 1946 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Gloria Peterson, Gretchen Merrill and Barbara Jones. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

World War II might have brought figure skating in many European countries to a halt, but American skating enjoyed an unprecedented boom. Inspired by Sonja Henie pictures and the many touring ice spectacles and hotel shows, more young people took to the ice in the United States than ever before.

The 1946 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Chicago were the first Nationals to be held after the War ended. The event drew seventy five entries though only sixteen men over the three classes, as many men were still in service. It marked the dawning of a new era in American skating as well as a celebration of years past. Not only was it the twenty fifth anniversary of the host Chicago Figure Skating Club, but also the twenty fifth anniversary of the USFSA.

The Chicago Arena circa 1946. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

The event served as a post-War reunion of sorts for many champions and generous media attention, colourful costumes, a printed program and a microphone to announce the scores only added to the excitement.

The Open Marking System was used for all events except ice dance and judging conferences were held in conjunction with the event. The return of the senior men's event after a two year hiatus added another layer of interest to skating aficionados in attendance. Let's take a quick look back at the excitement!

THE NOVICE AND JUNIOR EVENTS

Yvonne Sherman and Robert Swenning

Novice pairs and ice dance events weren't anywhere close to being included on the bill at the U.S. Championships. In novice men's, Dudley Richards of the Skating Club of Boston bested Washington's Walter 'Red' Bainbridge, Philadelphia's Newbold Black and Cleveland's Hayes Alan Jenkins.

Dudley Richards

Detroit's Ginny Baxter led the way after the figures in novice women's, only to drop to second overall after Seattle's Gloria Peterson delivered what was by all accounts a superb free skating performance. Philadelphia's Jane Lemmon edged Helen Geekie of St. Louis and Nancy Lemmon of Philadelphia for the bronze.

Gloria Peterson, Gretchen Van Zandt Merrill and Barbara Jones

Yvonne Sherman and Robert Swenning of the Skating Club Of New York won junior pairs. John Lettengarver of the St. Paul Figure Skating Club defeated Charles Brinkman, Robert Swenning and Carleton Hoffner, Jr. to win the junior men's title. Barbara Jones of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society won the junior women's event, besting Yvonne Sherman, Shirley Lander and Lois Johnson. The Silver (junior) dance title was won by a married couple, Vivian (Halliday) and Richard C. Queisser, representing the Washington Figure Skating Club. The Queisser's were social ice dancers. She had taken up skating in 1941 and spent two summers in Lake Placid. He started skating on ponds at the age of ten and had only really started skating in 1941 as well. The couple both worked for the U.S. government. Vivian's sister Vera placed second with partner E. Tefft Barker, ahead of Camilla Cliff and Sidney J. Moore and Nancy Miller and Don Laws.

THE FOURS, PAIRS AND ICE DANCE COMPETITIONS

Donna J. Pospisil and Jean-Pierre Brunet. Photo courtesy "World Ice Skating Guide".

To the delight of the Chicago crowd, a hometown quartet won the city's only gold medal in the fours event. The team consisted of Jacquelyn Dunne, Joan Yocum and the van der Bosch brothers - Edward and Larry. In Gold (senior) ice dance, a pair of teenagers waltzed away with gold. In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice", Lynn Copley-Graves recalled, "The new Dance Champions, Anne Davies, 15, and Carleton Hoffner, Jr., 14, also liked to play tennis and swim, but they aspired to attend the Olympics in ice dance. They trained in Washington with Norval Baptie. Carleton also trained in Lake Placid with Howard Nicholson and Nancy Allard and planned to study at Annapolis." The bronze went to Carmel Waterbury and Edward Bodel and fourth place to Marcella May Willis and Frank Davenport. The senior pairs event was won by Olympic Gold Medallist Andrée and Pierre Brunet's teenage son Jean-Pierre and his partner, Donna Jeanne Pospisil, representing the Skating Club of New York. Only two years later, Jean-Pierre, who had been awarded a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was killed instantly when the jeep he was driving overturned.

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Gretchen Van Zandt Merrill, George Tracey, Carolyn Welch and Jimmy Lochead Jr.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Gretchen Van Zandt Merrill of the Skating Club of Boston, a student of Maribel Vinson Owen, took a decisive lead in the school figures, which accounted for sixty percent of the score. Though Janette Ahrens and Madelon Olson, both of St. Paul, held on to place second and third based on their strong showings in figures, the fourth place finisher made a far greater impression in the free skating competition. Philadelphia's Eileen Seigh was awarded the Oscar L. Richard Trophy for most artistic women's program. The Skating Club of Boston's Barbara Burns rounded out the women's field in fifth.

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Dick Button. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Representing the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, a teenage Dick Button entered senior men's event at the U.S. Championships for the first time and walked away a winner. In his book "Dick Button On Skates" he recalled, "At sixteen, I could only hold my breath on entering my first battle for United States supremacy. But the four years of constant training, excellent instruction and the inspirational support of my family paid off... I received a unanimous vote of 5, with James Lochead, Jr. of Berkeley, California, second with 10 and John Tuckerman of Cleveland third with 17. I was told that this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior and senior national titles in successive years. Jimmy Lochead had led me in figures. I could see then that it would be possible to win doing what I liked to - free skate - provided my figures held up." Placing fourth at that event was Chicago's lone entry, Patrick Kazda. The autumn after Button's win, he received a call from Walter S. Powell of the USFSA confirming his spot on the American team which would leave the following January for the European and World Championships. That Chicago win kick-started Dick Button's international career.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Those That Stayed: The Fates Of Figure Skating's 'Enemy Aliens'

Photo courtesy National Archives, Kew - War Cabinet Memoranda

"Many intellectuals, scientists and professionals, particularly those with Jewish backgrounds, or whose thinking did not agree with Nazi policies left for the United States and Great Britain... By the outbreak of the War, these men and women would feel their primary allegiances lay with the Allies, not their native lands. They trusted that any suspicion or abuse they encountered in England would be mild compared to the tortures inflicted by the Nazis. Because of Great Britain’s tough stance on immigration, most refugees were young, educated and productive members of society. In general, they assumed that they would continue to perform their daily occupations, or would be allowed to aid the war effort. They certainly did not expect the widespread distrust that surrounded anyone with a foreign accent as soon as the country was at war." - Elizabeth A. Atkins, "The Gettysburg Historical Journal", 2005

When Great Britain declared War on Nazi Germany in September of 1939, over seventy three thousand Germans and Austrians living in Great Britain were deemed 'enemy aliens' and asked to leave the country. Only two thousand did. After the fall of France and an invasion scare, Winston Churchill famously issued the order "Collar The Lot!" Men over the age of sixteen who chose to remain in England were ordered to surrender their cameras, weapons, maps and bicycles. They were subjected to curfews and required to obtain police permission to travel short distances from their homes for business. The Home Office established internment tribunals to decide whether 'enemy aliens' would be A) sent to internment camps, B) exempted from internment but subject to restrictions or C) exempted from both.

But what does all this have to with figure skating? Well, in the thirties a not insignificant number of Germans and Austrians came to Great Britain to teach skating or perform in ice pantomimes and revues. A precious few of these skaters, among them Elsie (Derksen) and Rudy Angola and the Baron von Petersdorff, managed to get out of England just before the War began. The fates of those that stayed varied greatly.

Ernst Hartung

Ernst Friedrich Ludwig Nikolaus Hartung came to England to teach lawn tennis and figure skating in the early thirties. Born in Munich, he had served in the Deutsches Heer (Imperial German Army) during the Great War. He met his wife Eileen, a domestic science student, at the short-lived Golders Green Ice Rink in London. Ernst was able to avoid being labelled an 'enemy alien' because his naturalization certificate came through in May of 1938. Ernst and Eileen went on to become highly respected skating instructors at Westminster, Liverpool and Birmingham. Both of their children were born during the War. Ernst passed away in Feniscowles, Blackburn on July 26, 1978.

Adolf Schima teaching eight year old Margaret McLaughlan at Perth Ice Rink. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

Adolf Obst Vulgo Schima learned to skate at the Engelmann rink in Vienna and came to England in 1937 after managing a skating school in Adelboden, Switzerland. An exceptional stilt skater, he gave a series of exhibitions in Scotland before taking a job teaching at the Manchester Ice Palace. He was one of the lucky ones to be given a 'special case' exemption from both restrictions and internment. He married in 1943, was hired to teach skating at the Perth Ice Rink in 1947 and received his naturalization in 1948. He later taught at the Durham Ice Rink. He lived out his days in England, passing away on September 18, 1987 at the age of seventy eight.

Paul Kreckow performing at the Admiralspast prior to the Great War

Berlin's Paul Kreckow came to the England in the late twenties, after starring in the Eisballets at the Admiralspalast, summer ice shows at the Cincinnati Zoo, Charlotte's Mexican tour and shows at the Hippodrome in New York City and teaching skating in St. Moritz and at the Palazzo del Ghiaccio in Milan. After teaching at the Hammersmith Ice Drome and Westminster Ice Club, Paul was the runner-up at the Open Professional Championships with Gertrude 'Trudy' Harris.

Melitta Brunner and Paul Kreckow

The following year, Paul married Olympic Bronze Medallist Melitta Brunner in London. Their marriage was short-lived; she petitioned for a divorce in 1933. British Champion Michael Booker, who trained under Madge Austin who competed against Paul and Trudy at the Open Professional Championships, shared this story: "A member of the new Richmond staff was a fellow who appeared from nowhere by the name of Paul Kreckow. He had one solitary pupil, a married lady with whom he was having an affair, Trudy Harris. They skated for hours snuggled up to each other, supposedly nobody was to know of the affair, out of which came the 'Harris Tango.' Neither had any knowledge of music thus the dance really does not fit the tempo of a tango and ends up mid-bar and on the off beat. It is for this reason that the ladies inside three at the end of the dance is either performed on the off beat with a longer number of beats for the continuous back outside edge that follows, or is done the other way around with a shorter B.O. edge; I think the former is the 'official one. Anyway, one day some plain clothes cops turned up at the rink and carted off Mr. Kreckow; he has never been seen since, might be at Guantanamo, for it turned out he was a German spy. Those were the days when traitors, murderers and the like forfeited their human rights!"

Paul Kreckow

So what did become of Paul? No one really knows. We do know he sailed from Berlin to Southampton in March of 1935 and appeared in the ice revue "Marina" at the S.S. Brighton in 1936. Beyond that, he vanishes off the face of the earth. Was he an agent of the Abwehr, the German military service? Was he deported or hauled out back and shot? It's hard to say... he doesn't show up in the records of 'alien internees'.

Erich Erdös

Helmut Erich Rudolf Rolle, a native of Oberstdorf, came to England in the early thirties and married an English woman in Bournemouth in 1933. He was the runner-up at the Open Professional Championships in 1936 and 1937 and taught at both the Streatham and Richmond Ice Rinks. Viennese born Erich Erdös was the bronze medallist at the 1934 World Championships and the 1932 and 1933 European Championships. He turned professional after a disappointing showing at the 1935 World Championships and came to England to teach at Queen's Ice Club and perform in the "St. Moritz" ice show at the London Coliseum. Both Helmut and Erich were deemed 'security risks' and on July 10, 1940, were among the over two thousand, five hundred 'enemy aliens' that sailed from Liverpool to Australia aboard the S.S. Dunera. These men spent an incredible fifty seven days a sea and were kept below deck the entire time, except for a daily ten-minute exercise period... where they had to walk across shards of glass from beer bottles intentionally smashed by guards. They were subject to frequent beatings and robberies by the guards. Alan Parkinson recounted the terrible conditions aboard thusly: "As passengers embarked on the Dunera, their possessions were taken and thrown into a heap on the dockside. Pilfering by the soldiers was rife even before the journey started. One soldier tried to pocket a small box of jewels taken from one of the men. An officer was called, and he said he would look after them - they were never seen again. The 'guards' were nothing better than looters and this went on in front of officers, even with participation by the officers. The ship was an overcrowded Hell-hole. Hammocks almost touched, many men had to sleep on the floor or on tables. There was only one piece of soap for twenty men, and one towel for ten men, water was rationed, and luggage was stowed away so there was no change of clothing. As a consequence, skin diseases were common. There was a hospital on board but no operating theatre. Toilet facilities were far from adequate, even with makeshift latrines erected on the deck and sewage flooded the decks. Dysentery ran through the ship. Blows with rifle butts and beatings from the soldiers were daily occurrences. One refugee tried to go to the latrines on deck during the night – which was out-of-bounds. He was bayoneted in the stomach by one of the guards and spent the rest of the voyage in the hospital. Food was bad, maggots in the bread and the butter and margarine was rancid. The guards however were well enough fed and even threw some of their food overboard in front of the refugees. The passengers were not told where they were going until they had been at sea for a week, and then they were told their destination was Australia."

After arriving in Australia, Erich and Helmut were put on a night train and transported to an internment camp in the town of Hay, New South Wales. When word got back to England of the atrocities that took place aboard the S.S. Dunera, Erich and the other internees were released. Erich returned to England in 1943, married the following year and went on to teach skating at Empress Hall, Earl's Court and Liverpool and perform in Bournemouth, Blackpool, Belgium, the Casa Carioca nightclub in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Holiday On Ice tour in America. He passed away in Somerset, England on May 6, 2000. Helmut set sail to England with another group of internees in 1945, but the ship was reportedly torpedoed. He is not believed to have survived the disaster.

Perhaps even sadder was the story of Kurt Ernst Schier, who came to England from Hamburg, Germany in the mid-thirties. He starred in Tom Arnold's touring ice revues "Revelry On The Ice" and "Switzerland" with Melitta Brunner, where he met his wife Olive Goater, who performed in the show as part of a twin sister act. He taught at Southampton's first ice rink, which was later destroyed during the Blitz, and the ice rink at Blackpool.

Kurt was soon separated from his wife and sent to one of the overcrowded internment camps in Douglas, on the Isle Of Man, where on July 11, 1943 he hung himself in a shower bath at the age of forty four. An inquest after his death revealed that he had threatened to commit suicide for weeks after an unsuccessful appeal for release from internment, and that no one had reported this to the camp leaders or taken any steps to stop him from harming himself. Home Secretary Herbert Morrison was questioned about Kurt's sad case in the House Of Commons and responded, "This man was not a refugee, and there should be no misunderstanding on that point. Clearly I must do my duty by what I conceive to be the security of the State, and I cannot be deterred by the possibility of suicide."

When we take history and spin it around from a different angle, we come to appreciate that the lines between 'the good guys' and 'the bad guys' were at times blurry. In exploring the figure skating's history, it's so important that difficult stories like these are told. Behind every black and white picture and grainy video is a person - and behind every person is a story that's usually pretty complicated.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

#Unearthed: Early Advice To 'Lady Skaters'

When you dig through skating history, you never know what you will unearth. In the spirit of cataloguing fascinating tales from skating history, #Unearthed is a once a month 'special occasion' on Skate Guard where fascinating writings by others that are of interest to skating history buffs are excavated, dusted off and shared for your reading pleasure.

From forgotten fiction to long lost interviews to tales that have never been shared publicly, each #Unearthed is a fascinating journey through time. Today's treasure comes from the 1864 edition of "Godey's Lady Book", the most widely circulated magazine in the United States prior to the Civil War. The magazine was printed in Philadelphia, the home of the country's first skating club which had been established not long before. The short unattributed article, entitled "Hints About Health. Rules For Skating.", provided 'lady skaters' some advice for the ice.

"HINTS ABOUT HEALTH. RULES FOR SKATING."

"Skating on the Schuylkill"

1. Avoid skates which are strapped on the feet, as they prevent the circulation, and the foot becomes frozen before the skater is aware of it, because the tight strapping benumbs the foot and deprives it of feeling. A young lady at Boston lost a foot in this way; another in New York her life, by endeavoring to thaw her feet in warm water after taking off her skates. The safest kind are those which receive the forepart of the foot in a kind of toe, and stout leather around the heel, buckling in front of the ankle only, thus keeping the heel in place without spikes or screws, and aiding greatly in supporting the ankle.

2. It is not the object so much to skate fast, as to skate gracefully and this is sooner and more easily learned by skating with deliberation; while it prevents overheating, and diminishes the chances of taking cold by cooling off too soon afterward.

3. If the wind is blowing, a veil should he worn over the face, at least of ladies and children; otherwise fatal inflammation of the lungs, ''pneumonia," may take place.

4. Do not sit down to rest a single half minute; nor stand still, if there is any wind; nor stop a moment after the skates are taken off; but walk about, so as to restore the circulation about the feet and toes, and to prevent being chilled.

5. It is safer to walk home than to ride; the latter is almost certain to give a cold.

6. It would be a safe rule for no child or lady to be on skates longer than an hour at a time.

7. The grace, exercise, and healthfulness of skating on the ice can be had, without any of its dangers, by the use of skates with rollers attached, on common floors; better, if covered with oil-cloth.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Cocktails In Chicago: The College Inn And Terrace Garden Ice Shows

Down in the United States in the years leading up to the roaring twenties, two historic hotels in the Midwest had the bright idea of using figure skating as a novelty to draw in patrons. The College Inn and Terrace Garden's unique ice shows took off like wildfire and set the precedent for many similar productions that followed in the years to come. In today's blog, we will explore the ebb and flow of these early Chicago hotel shows, the stars and the stories that made them so fascinating and the factors that contributed to their ultimate demise. Grab yourself a classic cocktail and a smart hat. We're setting the dial on the time machine to the 1910's and heading to Illinois!

The Hotel Sherman, the Sherman House Hotel... Whatever name you want to call it by, there's no denying this historic space was an iconic Windy City landmark. Through five incarnations, the Sherman was a mainstay on the corner of Randolph and Clark Streets. It stood tall during the Iroquois Theater Fire and the S.S. Eastland Disaster; the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and the only all-Chicago baseball World Series in 1906. The second Sherman was destroyed in The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the third demolished in 1910. That same year the fourth Sherman was rebuilt from scratch. It was in that space that some very fascinating figure skating history was made. 

In June of 1914 - four years after the fourth Hotel Sherman opened - a fifty square foot ice tank was installed in the hotel's basement College Inn restaurant. According to promoter Julian T. Fitzgerald, the initial plan for the College Inn's ice tank was not a traditional show but a series of "very clever skating contests decided during the hot weather. It worked in New York City; why not in Chicago?" Fitzgerald's idea never got off the ground and instead manager Frank W. Bering set to work organizing a series of ice shows to entertain diners while they sipped on classic cocktails and puffed on cigars.

What was it like? Well, the College Inn's decor was inspired by 'the old school spirit' with walls plastered with collegiate pennants and crests and tables illuminated by lightbulbs screwed in the ceiling. After paying your four dollars a night for a private room with a bath, you could enjoy dinner, dancing and an ice show at the College Inn for under two dollars a head. The food was indulgent - everything from Filet De Bass De Mer to Au Jus, Asperges En Branche and Tranche De Tomato Au Caviar Frais - and the skating exquisite. Early stars included Norval Baptie and Gladys Lamb, Grace Chappell and Eddie Bassett and speed skater Bobby McLean and by 1915, hotel guides and newspapers were raving about the daily, year round shows. "The Bulletin Of The Commercial Law League of America" boasted, "The midsummer ice skating at the College Inn is one of the sights of Chicago." The hotel prided itself on daily ice shows thrice a day "enjoyed at luncheon, dinner or after-the play."

As in any skating production, there was a healthy dose of drama behind the scenes at the College Inn shows. The American Exhibition Ice Skaters Association attempted to unionize the American skaters who felt they were losing out on job opportunities "to Europeans"... in other words, the German skaters who came over to perform in Charlotte's shows at the Hippodrome in New York. Not long after signing a contract the College Inn, speed skater Bobby McLean was hauled into a meeting by Allan Blanchard, President of the International Skating Union of America. He was 'charged with professionalism' for accepting payment for performing in the shows. McLean simply got up in front of his accusers, 'accepted the charges' and told them to get stuffed. Blanchard ultimately lost his position; McLean made buckets of money performing in the shows. Regulars at the College Inn shows included the aforementioned skaters along with Orrin and Ellen Markhus, Bunny Gray, Cathleen Pope and George Kerner, Francis LeMaire, Alonzo Kaney and Dorothy Henri, Roy Fink, James J. McGeever, Art Victor, James Bourke, Marie Nicholson, barrel jumper Claude R. 'Bucky' Lamy and twelve year old Mary Rowe. After the shows, carpet was hastily thrown over ice and stragglers were entertained with dance numbers and lassoing demonstrations.

Approximately two years into the College Inn's run, the nearby Morrison Hotel decided to give the Hotel Sherman a little competition. Located on the corner of Madison and Clark Streets, the Morrison had also been rebuilt following the Great Chicago Of Fire of 1871. Its reputation was certainly considered a little more upscale, as it regularly played host to visiting politicians and dignitaries and generally got in more well-known musical acts.

To capitalize on the skating craze, the Morrison's management installed a somewhat larger tank in its huge Terrace Garden cafe, which seated one thousand, four hundred people. In 1917, "Variety" magazine described the layout of the Terrace Garden thusly: "Starting from the floor, really the balcony, it ranges downward in semi-circular terraces, eight or nine in number, tables on each terrace. At the bottom is a platform upon which the show is given. Whether the general arrangement is a practical one is another question since from many of the tables, guests cannot see below the knee of the artists or skaters only when at the further end of the stage or rink, which is also of semi-circular form... The stage is laid in sections covering the ice surface and before the skating portion of the entertainment; it is necessary for a force of bus boys, resembling slow working canvasmen, to cart away the segments." As was the case at the College Inn, an experienced orchestra accompanied the skaters who performed in the Terrace Garden.

In 1917, "Iceland Frolics" opened at the Terrace Garden featuring Charlotte Oelschlägel, Norval Baptie and Gladys Lamb and a sixteen skater ensemble. It was a two hour show with music by Harry Robinson and Will Harris and production by George F. Lask. The concept was an ice show in 'four seasons' with dancing in between. By the late summer, Charlotte had left "Iceland Frolics" in a sea of controversy. The August 15, 1917 issue of "The New York Clipper" reported, "The row between Charlotte, the ice skater, and the management of the Hotel Morrison, which began several weeks ago, when it was said that the skater walked out of the Terrace Garden show because she was jealous of Norval Baptie and Gladys Lamb, in the same show, had an interesting aftermath last week when Charlotte brought suit against the hotel company for $10,500, claiming breach of contract. It appears now, however, that jealousy was not the cause for the breaking off of diplomatic relations between the skater and the Terrace Garden show. It seems that Charlotte took it to heart mightily when her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Oelschlägel, were ordered out of the place one evening by Harry Mehr, manager of the garden, when they refused to rise while 'The Star Spangled Banner' was being played by his orchestra. The suit is further complicated by the fact that Charlotte's father has also brought an action against the hotel company for the sum of $1,500 'for services rendered in bringing his daughter to this city for the purpose of rehearsing a certain production.' Charlotte is under the impression that she was 'fired', but Mehr says she quit her engagement, not because of jealousy, but because of the trouble over her parents." Apparently, the rumour that she left the show because of Baptie and Lamb started because the duo had left the College Inn show to join the Terrace Garden show the same night when the drama went down with her parents. Charlotte took a four week engagement at the College Inn and a major pay cut. The lawsuit fizzled and Freda Whitaker replaced her.

By 1918, the popular ice shows at both hotels became targets of the teetotalers, who took issue with these 'cabarets' where booze flowed freely and was cheap, cheap, cheap. For a time, it seemed the hotels had won the war. The August 7, 1918 issue of "The New York Clipper" reported, "The College Inn and Terrace Garden have been permitted to continue their ice skating in connection with the serving of liquors. The City Council granted this permission of a meeting of that body on Friday of last week. At the same time, the Food Administration at Washington issued a bulletin asking the owners of ice making and refrigerating plants to save ammonia. The Council License Committee adopted an amendment to the anti-cabinet ordinance to permit ice skating in connection with the sale of liquors." The party didn't last. The crowds started to thin out and by the end, the biggest draw in the Terrace Garden's show was a relative unknown named Margarete Hoshell, a chorus skater who got her start at the age of eleven in Charlotte's Eisballets in Germany. The North American skaters were getting increasingly fed up with the fact that European skaters were getting top billing in the shows and the show's producers were frustrated by the dwindling numbers. When the United States officially went dry in January of 1920, the ice on the stages melted along with the ice at the empty bars.

In 1933, prohibition ended and the Chicago World's Fair of 1933, the Century Of Progress Exposition, enjoyed success with an ice show in its Black Forest Village. Hoping to capitalize on this, Ernest Byfield and Frank Bering decided to revive the College Inn shows and installed a 20 X 40 tank in the restaurant. Eddie Quigley, writing in "The Billboard" on December 22, 1951 noted, "The Hotel Sherman management got in touch with the Shipstads and Johnson and also Edward Mahlke, a Chicagoan very much interested in figure skating. They formed a show and came into the College Inn with the idea of remaining one month. So great was their success that they remained for 16 months. In the cast were Oscar Johnson, Eddie and Roy Shipstad, Gladys Lamb and Norval Baptie, Bobby McLean, Bess Ehrhardt, McGowan and Mack, LaVerne Busher, Eric Waite, Duke And Noble and others." That show ended summer of 1936 but really paved the way for the success of Shipstad and Johnson's Ice Follies for years to come. The College Inn kept in the ice in year-round until 1940. The Morrison Hotel was demolished in 1965; the Hotel Sherman in 1973. Today, the Chase Tower and James R. Thompson Center stand where the Morrison Hotel and Hotel Sherman once majestically stood, purveyors of cocktails and crossfoot spins in days long ago. 

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

The 1979 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

Photo courtesy "Canadian Skater" magazine

From March 27 to 31, 1979, the world's top junior skaters gathered in Augsburg, West Germany for the second official World Junior Figure Skating Championships in history. Though historically recognized as World Junior Championships, this event had been simply termed an ISU International Junior Championship prior to 1978. Under the rules in place at the time, all skaters had to be nineteen years of age of under.

Both the competition and practice venues proved quite shocking to many of the 'hothouse' skaters in attendance. The main rink was covered by a roof, but was open to the elements on one side. The practice rink wasn't covered at all, and rain and snow frequently interrupted the young skaters' training. Let's take a look back at how things played out that spring in West Germany!

THE PAIRS AND ICE DANCE COMPETITIONS

A trio of Canadian pairs - Sherri Baier and Robin Cowan, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini and Josie France and Paul Mills - had won the pairs event at this event the three years previous. In Augsburg, Kerry Leitch's pupils Lorri Baier and Lloyd Eisler had to settle for bronze behind two Soviet pairs, Veronika Pershina and Marat Akbarov and Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov. Pershina and Akbarov's victory would prove to be the first of five consecutive wins for Soviet pairs at the World Junior Championships. At the time, they were coached by Stanislav Zhuk.

Tatiana Durasova and Sergei Ponomarenko

Twenty one couples from thirteen countries participated in the ice dance event. Natalia Dubova's students Tatiana Durasova and Sergei Ponomarenko defended the title they'd first won the year prior in Megève. They were the unanimous choice of the panel, and their free dance to "Flight Of The Bumblebee" drew rave reviews. Roy Bradshaw's students Kelly Johnson and Kris Barber received second place marks from the British and Canadian judges, but had to settle for bronze behind
Lyudmila Pakhomova's students Elena Batanova and Andrei Antonov.

Elena Batanova, Lyudmila Pakhomova and Andrei Antonov

Americans Elisa Spitz and Scott Gregory finished second. In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice",  Lynn Copley-Graves recalled, "They had less than two months to learn the Starlight Waltz and change their OSP to a full-sequence dance because U.S. Silver Dance was not formatted the same as Junior World Dance." West Germans Elke and Dieter Kwiet, the children of 1959 World Roller Dance Champions Rita Paucka and Klaus-Peter Kwiet, placed sixth. They managed to defeat the third Soviet team, Oksana Gusakova and Genrikh Sretenski, who were students of Tatiana Tarasova. Their placement was considered quite an upset at the time.

THE MEN'S AND WOMEN'S COMPETITIONS

Bobby Beauchamp, Vitali Egorov and Alexandr Fadeev on the podium

In winning the men's competition, Kharkov's Vitali Egorov made history as the first Soviet singles skater to claim the title. America's Bobby Beauchamp finished second, becoming the first skater of colour to win a medal at the World Junior Championships. A young Alexandr Fadeev finished third. Canada's two entries, Brad McLean and Darin Mathewson, placed a disappointing thirteenth and fourteenth. As Canadian men had won the event the previous two years, there was 'much talk' about the CFSA's decision to send two novice men instead of Brian Orser, the Canadian junior champion who had landed a triple Axel at that year's Nationals. Orser planned on moving up to the senior ranks and was given an international assignment at that autumn's Vienna Cup instead.

Left: Elaine Zayak. Right: Manuela Ruben. Photos courtesy "Canadian Skater" magazine.

To the delight of the West German audience, fifteen year old Manuela Ruben was in first place after the women's school figures. Though a talented free skater, Ruben proved no match for thirteen year old Elaine Zayak of Paramus, New Jersey. Zayak, the second youngest skater in the event, brought the house down with a free skate jam-packed with triple jumps. Ruben took the silver, less than a point and one ordinal placing ahead of Zayak's teammate Jacki Farrell. Daniela Massanneck of West Germany and Petra Schruf of Austria placed fourth and fifth. The CFSA and Mrs. Ellen Burka agreed that "it was better for [Tracey Wainman] to stay home" and Kay Thomson placed a creditable sixth in her international debut.

An interesting footnote about this event is the fact that it was the first time ever that a future World Champion won a medal in all four disciplines at the World Junior Championships.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Climb Every Mountain: The Armand Perren Story

Born March 21, 1903 in the small municipality of Zermatt, Switzerland at the foot of the Matterhorn, Armand Hermann Perren began skating when he was four years old. "With my father, skating was his recreation," he explained in a September 13, 1953 "Sunday Mail" interview. "On a Sunday, after Mass, always the same - he goes skating. And what was there to do with Armand but take him too? And so it began."

Armand turned professional at the age of sixteen by what he referred to as "an accident". He had been training at a Swiss hotel's rink when the resident instructor broke his leg and asked him to take on some of his duties. He was thrilled with the extra pocket money and completely naive to the fact that the favour he did for his instructor disqualified him from participating in amateur figure skating competitions in the future.

At the time, skating was about number five on Armand's list of pursuits. A talented Swiss guide, he claimed to have climbed the Matterhorn over one hundred and forty times and to be "the only man in the world to climb the Matterhorn twice in one day". He also excelled in tennis, narrowly losing a selection for the Davis Cup. In addition to hockey, skiing and cooking, Perren also excelled at Greco-Roman wrestling. It wasn't until he was twenty eight that Perren seriously pursued figure skating as a career.

Olive Robinson and Armand Perren

A contemporary of Jacques and Arnold Gerschwiler, Armand taught skating in Switzerland, France and Great Britain. Prior to and during World War II, he worked with Andrée (Joly) and Pierre Brunet, Jeannette Altwegg and future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. To supplement his income from giving lessons, he regularly appeared in ice shows. In 1937, he skated in Claude Langdon's ice pantomime "Marina" at Brighton with Red McCarthy, Erna Charlotte and The Three Bruises and "St. Moritz" at The London Coliseum as part of 'The Original Cossack Trio' with Emmie Boyd and Leonard Stewart.

Left: Armand Perren and Hanny Egli. Photo courtesy Hennepin County Library. Right: Armand Perren and Hanny Egli.

Two years later, Armand skated pairs with St. Moritz's Hanny Egli and doubled as the skating director for Empress Hall, Earl's Court and Arthur M. Wirtz's All Star European Revue "Hello America!" tour. He later skated pairs with Olive Robinson in several of Tom Arnold's ice pantomimes. After appearing in the show "Ice Follies" - not to be confused with the North American tour - with Raymonde du Bief, he performed in "La Féerie de la Glace" at the A.B.C. Theatre in Brussels, Belgium before going on the road with the Internationale Eis Revue, touring throughout Europe.

Armand Perren and Pierre Franchine preparing for a Tivoli show

In the late forties, Armand created his own show company which opened in Switzerland and later toured Belgium and Italy. He headed to Australia in 1950, where he directed a string of J.C. Williamson productions on The Tivoli Circuit.

Left: Marika Saary and Armand Perren in 1951. Photo courtesy National Library Of Australia. Right: Armand Perren.

Armand skated in some of these earlier Tivoli shows with Hungarian Champion Marika Saáry but ultimately stepped away from performing to focus on the direction and production. His efforts in Australia were at times in rocky. He contended with everything from mixed reviews to ice problems and in 1955, eighteen of the twenty two skaters in his "Rose Marie On Ice" show quit en masse over a wage dispute, only to be later rehired out of desperation. In the mid fifties, he was affiliated with a group which planned to build a giant, world-class rink in Brisbane, but it never materialized.

After a stint teaching skating in Johannesburg, South Africa, Armand returned to England in the sixties. He taught at Solihull Ice Rink in Altrincham, the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Streatham and the Birmingham Ice Rink. Among his students were Hywel Evans, Sally-Anne Stapleford, Carol Ann Warner, Vera Jeffery and Peter Webb and a young Lorna Brown and John Curry. 

John Curry and Armand Perren

Armand had quite a reputation for the time he spent at the horse tracks. He once claimed to have won thirty eight thousand pounds at a three-day meet in Goodwood, Sussex and while living in Australia, he owned several horses of his own. Bill Jones' book  "Alone: The Triumph And Tragedy Of John Curry" noted, "By the mid-1960's Perren's once sparkling career was in reverse, and his behaviour was becoming eccentric. For lessons he wore a dark double-breasted suit and tie, and if a pupil arrived two minutes late he would walk from the rink and not return. As one contemporary described him: 'He always had snots out of his nose. He sometimes didn't come in because he was drunk and he went to the races all the time and lost his money.'" John Curry and Armand's professional relationship ended unhappily after less than a year and the former Swiss guide's star continued to dwindle. He passed away in 1982, all but forgotten.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.