2026-04-30T09:39:50+00:00 Zend_Feed_Writer https://historicnovascotia.ca/ Historic Nova Scotia https://historicnovascotia.ca 2018-08-01T17:43:18+00:00 2019-12-18T14:37:26+00:00 https://historicnovascotia.ca/items/show/38 Shannon Baxter and Dartmouth Heritage Museum Starr Manufacturing was established in 1861 by Dartmouth businessman, John Starr. The steel manufacturing company was located on the west side of Prince Albert Road just north of Pleasant Street. Initially, the company produced nuts, bolts, and nails. This would change in 1863 when Starr hired John Forbes, who had been working on a new style of ice skate. Together with co-worker, Thomas Bateman, the two developed the Acme Spring Skate. Patented in 1866, their invention would revolutionize how skates were designed in Canada and abroad. In the early days, skates were merely sharpened blades of metal that were attached to the bottom of a boot typically with leather straps. These weren't very secure, so by the early nineteenth century, skates were often attached to the bottom of boots with screws. The Acme Spring Skate was revolutionary; since it clamped to a boot with a spring-lock mechanism. This created a secure fit but didn't require a skater to ruin a good pair of boots. Starr's skates were a great success for the company. By the end of 1866, the Acme Spring Skate was the most sought-after skate on the market. The company developed several styles of skates, which were sold nationally and internationally. Even the King of Spain owned a pair, although his plated in gold. At its peak, Starr employed as many as 250 people and manufactured more than 100 pair of skates a day. Starr's employees profited too: in the 1870s, Forbes built himself a house called Lakeside on Crichton Avenue in Dartmouth, and the company’s Production Manager, Gavin Holliday, built the Octagon House, commonly known as The Ink Bottle House. People from both sides of the harbour looked forward to winter's chill, when they could clip on their Starr skates and glide across one of Dartmouth's many lakes. In Halifax, the wealthy liked to gather at indoor rinks, which hosted skating parties and carnivals. Amongst the growing numbers of skating enthusiasts were many women. Starr was quick to advertise to this new market and developed the 'Ladies' equivalent of their more popular styles of skates. Hockey was also a favourite activity for men and women alike. As early as 1890, Dartmouth had women's hockey teams, the most prominent being the Ramblers, formed around 1907, and The Kananites, who hit the ice in 1913. Despite the success of their spring skates, there were some ups and downs for Starr Manufacturing Company. In 1873, the patent on Forbes' skates lapsed, and Forbes himself was fired from Starr in 1878. Without the patent, other companies began developing cheaper versions of Starr's spring skate. One of the more blatant knock-offs came from the Henry Boker Skates Company and their "Halifax Pattern Spring Skates," which appeared in the early 1900s. Department stores also cashed in by selling their own brand of skates - Eaton's "Special Clamp" skate looked strikingly like the Starr Acme Club spring skate. Even though Starr regained the patent around 1878, they continued to face stiff competition, which only increased at the turn of the century. By the mid-1920s, Starr partnered with local boot manufacturers to keep up with the growing trend of skates and boots being sold as one. Unfortunately this move came a little too late, since Starr's competition had increased not only nationally but also internationally. Skates from the United States and Germany, in particular, were cheaper in price and in quality compared to Starr skates. In Canada, CCM rose in popularity through the 1930s and 1940s, selling boots with skates attached to eager skaters and hockey players. Starr's final downfall came in the Depression years, when they again let the patent slip on their skates. Unable to keep up with the competition, in 1939, the company closed down the skate department of the factory. For several decades more, Starr continued manufacturing steel and later polyethylene products, but in 1996, the factory closed its doors for good. The building was demolished in 2000, and the site was converted to a small greenspace appropriately called Starr Park. For more (including 10 images), view the original article. 2018-07-16T13:07:50+00:00 2019-12-18T14:38:02+00:00 https://historicnovascotia.ca/items/show/35 Ryan Stevens In 1862, the Halifax Skating Club was formed by a winter-hardy group of 'fancy skating' enthusiasts. They first took to the ice to perform the Lancers on Griffin's Pond in the Horticultural Society's Grounds, now commonly known as the Public Gardens. In the days before Zambonis, prisoners from Rockhead were tasked with clearing the snow from the pond for skating. By January 1863, the fun moved indoors to a covered barn near the Public Gardens' original entrance on South Park Street. This covered rink is reported to be one of the - if not the - first of its kind in the country. The January 12, 1863, issue of The Nova Scotian recalled, The building enclosing the Rink is 60 feet wide and 180 feet in length, and this area of ice constitutes the extent of the skating facilities. The structure is permanent in its character and is tastefully fitted up, and gas is introduced so that the Rink can be lighted at night. At the entrance end of the building, and joining upon it is a commodious room separated from the Rink, furnished with a stove, which is a desirable arrangement in connection with the enterprise [...]. In the centre of the far end is a recess with an elevated dais for the Band. By day the Rink is lighted by a row of large windows on the two sides, and by night by four pendants each containing several burners. In its heyday, the rink's members enjoyed costumed skating masquerades replete with marching bands, ice cream, and out of season strawberries. Membership at the Halifax Skating Club in its early days was much like skating clubs everywhere in those times - a trifle choosy. A freshly sharpened pair of Starr skates wasn't enough; rather, you had to be a member of the Horticultural Society, have money, know someone in the Society, or all of the above. Even still, the sport was so popular that within weeks of opening, the Club had reached maximum capacity and could accept no new members. The skating season, owing to the use of natural ice, was generally from January to March with the pond opening early in years in which Mother Nature cooperated. George Mullane, in his Mail Star column noted that one autumn, due to an early frost, "scores of ladies and gentlemen" hit the ice, which was "in capital condition, and the scene presented was a gay one." Looking past the gaiety of the Halifax Skating Rink's skating parties, skating history may have been made on that rink. While in Switzerland, a British officer had experimented with recreating the movements of waltzing on ice. But it wasn’t until he was stationed in Halifax that he successfully performed his dance in public - at the Halifax Skating Rink. The officer's introduction of valsing to Haligonians was an important milestone in turning the upper crust on to the joys of ice dancing. Two factors led to the demolition of the Halifax Skating Rink in 1889. One factor was a fire, perhaps in the rink's reception room, which was equipped with a coal stove. The other was the overwhelming popularity of the lavish skating rink in the Empire Exhibit Hall, which opened around 1880 at Tower Road and Morris Street - the present site of All Saints Cathedral. An effort to revive skating in the Public Gardens failed in the 1970s, but who knows what the future will hold for this lost historical landmark? For more (including 3 images), view the original article.