STONEHAM ICE ARENA – Stoneham, Massachusetts
This is a video of two ice shows —one in 1982 and the other in 1983, filmed by my dad, a proud grampa, with a hand-held movie camera with no audio capability. He and mother drove from Ohio to see and film both ice shows.
The film was lost for over 37 years. It is the only record I have of my three girls ice skating when they were just 3, 5, and 7. Finding this film in a box in the basement during a move was like a mini-miracle for me.
We had the two films converted to a DVD for each of us. They loved ice skating so much and I’m thankful they had the DVDs to share with my eleven grandchildren. They really enjoyed watching their mothers ice skate.
Like most children, it was hard to picture their mothers at any age other than the parental age, so it was good for them to see a whole different side of Mom.
The two older girls, Carrie and Bethany, had just started competing and we traveled to several ice rinks in surrounding towns so they could enter competitions.
In 1982, they were both Dorothy Hamill fans (1976 USA Olympic gold medalist and the last medalist to win without the difficult triple jump —three full rotations). They wore the Hamill haircut and they each wanted to include the famous ‘Hamill Camel’ in their solos for the ice show.
In the video, before the show starts you’ll see a five minute warm up for all skaters. Sadly, I only remember the music from the first show in 1982.
Bethany (5), wearing red and white candy stripes was the first soloist. She skated to “The Candyman”. Unafraid and confident, even when she missed a jump and landed down on the ice, she bounced back up and continued with her solo, hardly missing a beat.
Interestingly, Bethany skated left-handed. It was more natural to her, but that made it more difficult to learn the jumps and spins —-her coach was right-handed.
Heather (3) in pink was a beginner and her group was skating to the song, “Bare Necessities”. She’s the tiny short-haired blond, next to last in line.
Carrie (7) wearing navy with a white apron, did her solo to “A Spoonful of Sugar”, from “The Sound of Music”.
Being new to video filming, Dad didn’t know how much time on film he had so he kept his focus on filming only his granddaughters.
I wish I could remember the music for the 1983 ice show. Bethany (6) was again the first soloist, then Carrie’s (8) solo, then Heather (4) in her beginner group. Her hair is longer with a ribbon, but she’s still tiny and next to the last in line.
The 1983 show finishes with Carrie (8) skating in a group number with teenagers. She was the smallest and on an end. She said it was like playing “crack the whip” trying to keep up. They were skating to “The Eye of the Tiger”.
Shortly after the second ice show in 1983, we made a major move five states away and the girls had to give up skating. Carrie and Beth were both working hard with their coach to learn the double jump (two full rotations).
But there were no ice rinks, skating coaches, or skating competitions available to us there. For awhile, it was very disappointing. Eventually, they each got involved with soccer.
Thank you for taking the time to watch -- I've enjoyed sharing our very special time with you. (Photo: Heather, Carrie, Bethany - all grown up)
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