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Girls Scouts at Skateland
Tribune photo published November 20, 1957
Girls Scouts at Skateland
Tribune photo published November 20, 1957
Among the girls in Girl Scout Intermediate Troop 188 who made themselves felt skating skirts were, left to right: Pam Dunn, Susan Meyers, Cathy Carlson, Kathy Manchester, Pat Dunn, Jane Fiske and Carol Carmean.
The lighted sign behind the girls would indicate special skating routines. Floyd Penkhus, Robert Penkhus, and Jack Hoeppner opened Skateland in 1949 on the west side of South Duff Avenue about four blocks south of Lincoln Way. - more about Skateland -
The girls are seen here with their flag bearing the Girl Scout insignia.
The sign above says,
We permit jeans, but they must be of the
correct size and worn properly.
Those failing to comply with the above
will be denied skating and spectator privileges.
No. 1 hard Michigan Maple throughout and over an inch thick. So perfectly laid that it required six carpenters 17 days to install it ... every nail hole drilled, every nail countersunk ... then sanded many times to give a velvety, not slick, smoothness.... The air is always fresh at Skateland; two huge fans capable of changing all the air in the building keep it entirely fresh and clear of dust. And a huge automatic oil furnace to keep it at perfect temperature in winter. (From a full page ad appearing in the September 5, 1949 issue of The Milepost)
1955 view of Skateland interior
Notice the two girls in the background playing
Goalee.
The lights: A full quarter-mile of neon tubing in five outstanding colors; red, blue, green, white, and gold ... in brilliant combinations with each change of skating numbers. So elaborate that 25 transformers and a mile and a half of wiring were required to bring them to the switch boards. (From a full page ad appearing in the September 6, 1949 issue of the Ames Daily Tribune)
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