Stories on Edward’s trip across the country are sparse, and for a time Edwards dropped off the radar and no one knew if he had made it. In May 1910, The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review published a story that mentioned Edwards – If no Indians and bears were encountered in Van Courtland Park and the great beyond Max and Abie should be well on their way, and if they go far enough they may meet the ghost of Court Edwards, the Californian who started a year or so ago to ride a unicycle to New York and who, with his bugle and his umbrella still may be on the road for all the world knows. While Edwards was still on the road, a colorful character named Dan Green arrived in New York: Although Court Edwards, the unicyclist who was going to ride from California to New York, has disappeared, another long distance single wheeler turned up in New York City on Saturday last, 21st inst. He says his name is Dan Green and that he rode a unicycle from Boston to New York. He was decked out with an Indian war bonnet, and officer’s khaki coat and leather fringed trousers. Green accounted for his unusual costume by stating that he is a Mexican with a fondness for the United States, though why that should serve as a excuse for such an outlandish costume was not made plain. The following month- Edwards arrived in New York with two wheels instead of 1. Unicycling, he claimed, was too much work. That is probably an understatement, especially considering that there were large swaths of the country that didn’t have anything resembling a road, so he switched to a motorcycle. However, while riding a motorcycle, he hit a guardrail and broke two ribs- then kept riding on. In August of 1910, Edwards appears in papers as a trick motorcyclist rider widely praised in San Jose, performing on a motor cycle and unicycle at an event where there was also motorcycle racing going on a track featuring curves at a 45 degree angle.
Edwards died in Illinois on September 9, 1912 in a motorcycle accident. Motor cycles used in racing at the time ran at 100 miles an hour, had no breaks, and riders wore leather helmets. Additionally, the tracks used for racing placed spectators just above the 45 degree (or more) banked track, meaning if a cyclist went off the track, they could easily fly, motorcycle and all, into the crowd. Edwards’ death made national news. Motorcyclist deaths in races were becoming more common, and the racing ended in 1913. San Jose Mercury, 1 Aug 1910:   For outstanding images of these historic tracks, be sure to see:
http://www.ridingvintage.com/2012/12/the-motordrome-board-track-motorcycle.html Thank you to Jim Garrison for assistance in uncovering this story!
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During the Pandemic, you may have noticed shortages in stores- baking products, toilet paper, coin currency, bikes, camping gear, and much more. A while ago, on a sunny afternoon, I noticed my roller blades sitting by the front door. Pre-pandemic, I went to the Municipal Auditorium on Fridays to roller skate, but hadn’t tried skating outside. I think the last time I did that, I was like 10 and I went with my mom and she fell in a bush… More recently, I’ve been scared I’d hit a rock, fall over, break an arm or my teeth or something like that. To finally move past my fear, and get some more movement in my life, last weekend I went and got a mouthguard, geared up in elbow, knee, and wrist guards, plus a helmet and took to the boardwalk on my roller blades . It was kind of embarrassing, but eventually, I got back into the swing of it and got some practice avoiding rocks and other random things on the trail. I didn’t like how unstable my ankles felt, so I swapped out my blades for the more traditional side-by-side 4 wheel skates with a toe brake, and it’s a whole new learning curve. Trying to skate with them for the first time on a slight incline with high winds probably didn’t help much. But, while, I was skating, it got me thinking- who the heck came up with the idea to put some wheels on shoes and wheel around? So, I looked into it. I figured the Victorians had something to do with it since they had a thing for potentially dangerous modes of transportation... Early Skates
 The next iteration was a three wheel inline skate (above) patented by M. Petitbled in Paris in 1819. Around this time, skates were sometimes referred to as “parlour velocipede”. A velocipede at the time was another word for a bike, and at this time, the bikes we’re talking about are the ones with the huge front wheel and 1-2 small back wheels. The early skates earned the “parlor” prefix due to their initial use: an early variant of the quad skate is said to have been invented by German barmaids for increased drink serving efficiency in huge beer halls in Berlin. These early quad skates, however, were clunky and almost entirely metal, meaning the skater couldn’t lift their foot off the ground easily and the design made it hard to turn while rolling. The Engineer, an early publication reviewing new inventions, noted that the worst thing about the skates was their appearance, the 1876 publication read “‘very few of the fairer sex would deign to encase their feet in such ugly replicates, lest it should be expected that their ankles were really the size of which they were made to appear’.”
 The "Rocker Skates" and the Arrival of the Modern Skate
In the 1880s, mass production was in full swing due to the industrial revolution in Europe, and roller skates were included in the scaling up of production. Rinks began to pop up throughout New England and London, with the increase in “rinkomania”. Indoor roller skating became realized for its medical benefits, and outdoor roller skating was recognized for its efficient transportation benefits- benefits that might even be used by military forces (that didn’t pan out, but could you imagine...). These early skate iterations were usually still metal, with straps that attached to your shoes, making them removable. They didn’t roll very smoothly, and were still rudimentary and metal. In 1898, the quad skate reached the form that we recognize today, with ball bearings in the wheels to encourage smooth rolling of the wheels. Production materials have changed since then, but the structure is generally the same. Improvements in plastics have made them more lightweight and replaced some of the metal pieces that used to be in the skates.  1907 glass plate negative of Edwardian era women playing soccer (football) on roller skates The Golden Age of Skating and Skating in the Modern Era In 1902, a large roller rink in Chicago opened, called the Chicago Coliseum. 30 years later, the first roller derby competition hosted by the Roller Skate Rink Owners Association at the Coliseum became the birthplace of roller derby. The golden age of roller skating began a few years later with the national organization of the Roller Skate Rink Owners Association. Roller skating was considered an excellent escape from WWII and in the 1940s, 8,000 rinks operated nation wide and an estimated 18,000,000 people skated.  The Third Chicago Coliseum, c 1900 Roller rinks were centers for community life in the 1960s, and were some of the most difficult places to desegregate. The film, United Skates, explores the integral nature of roller rinks in communities through time and how theme nights like Soul Night at rinks became places Black individuals “didn’t have to abide by white rules, listen to white music, or play by white standards. They were free to be their complete selves and that is how this culture was able to thrive.” The film also explores how rinks continue to be segregated today through theme nights, like Adult Night and Family Night. In the 1970s, disco music and roller skating collided and caused a resurgence in skating. Economic downturns and the fall of disco led to the closure of many rinks, but this period in skating history is memorialized in shows like “That 70s Show”, Patrick Suaze's debut in Skatetown USA, Roller Boogie, and in music videos. Dancing in skates wasn’t unprecedented either, in the early 1910s and 1920s, skate dances were also popular. Inline skates arrived at their modern form in the 1970s with the renovation of a 1960s inline skate to feature an ice hockey boot and wheels for hockey training off ice. These skates, later branded Rollerblades, have become a household name. Humboldt County and SkatingSkating declined over time, but has experienced a resurgence in the early 2000s with the popularity of roller derby in films and the COVID pandemic while people look for things to do outside. Locally, roller derby picked up in 2006 when Humboldt Roller Derby founder Jennifer McMahon started Humboldt Roller Derby. The early team trained at the Blue Lake Roller Rink with former football coach Coach Mojo. They began competing in 2008 as the North Jetty Bettys and the Widow Makers, and have since become a nonprofit organization, donated $25,000 to local organizations, established a youth team called the Redwood Saplings, and have traveled nationally and internationally to compete in tournaments. Their season this year was put on hold, but you’ll frequently see people decked out in HRD gear zipping around on their skates.
What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Distance Learning?" Zoom calls? That one time your kid was in class and another kid in another window ran unexpectedly pantsless through the video? By now, many students have been in virtual classes for a few months and the novelty of "pantsless Peter" has worn off. But, did you know that distance learning isn't a very new thing? Of course, it's internet iteration is relatively new, but distance learning as a concept dates to the earliest back to the 1700s, but came into vogue in the mid 1800s, around the same time that the postal service in the US was becoming modernized and when Humboldt County was being established.
Other iterations of distance learning included radio, in 1923 when 10% of operating radio stations were owned by educational institutions to educate students over the radio. With the widespread development and use of the television, institutions like the University of Wisconsin Madison pioneered televised instruction that was duplicated in other countries. In the 1980s, National Technological University used satellite television technology to broadcast live courses where students could ask questions on the air along with pre-recorded sessions. With the rise of the internet, the first all online accredited higher education institution began in 1993 with 5 bachelors programs and 24 masters programs. The Display:Rural Humboldt County in the 1850s had no universities until Humboldt State Normal School was established in 1913, so correspondence courses allowed local adults to educate themselves despite distance. Class materials were mailed to students, and they could practice and hone a number of skills from bookkeeping to workers safety.  The materials on display, from 1928, were for a business course hosted by W.H. Goodwin. The ledgers, fake money, and invoices gave students a chance to work on their skills balancing books, keeping records, and doing transactions in the comfort of their own home. After completing the class, they would receive a certificate.  Students received an envelope of materials including ledgers, receipts, stationary and more, along with bundles of envelopes containing a month’s worth of transactions for a fictional company. Following a pink sheet listing the businesses’ dealings over the month and reading included invoices and price lists, the student would process the transactions into provided record books and produce receipts to practice their bookkeeping and administrative skills.  Correspondence course materials courtesy of Joann Bauer, Humboldt County Historical Society. The materials are from her mother. Be sure to take a close look at the prices on the items! Sources:
https://partners.pennfoster.edu/blog/2015/february/a-glimpse-into-the-past-penn-foster-celebrates-125-years-of-educating-the-non-traditional-learner Distance Learning- From Correspondence Courses to Zoom https://daily.jstor.org/three-centuries-of-distance-learning/ |
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