Village News

One of the newest artifacts at Mennonite Heritage Village is a pair of hand-made ice skates. The skates were donated by Ken Kristjansen. It is estimated that they are more than 100 years old.

The skates are relatively simple, consisting of a steel blade with a wood block mounted on the blade and strips of leather to fasten them to shoes. The blacksmith who made the blades was obviously a craftsman who took great pride in his work. They have exquisitely curled tips and some additional design work at the back of the blade. While the wood blocks are somewhat crudely fastened to the blades, they are notched to accommodate the heel of a shoe, perhaps a ladies shoe.

Looking at the skates leaves one with the sense that standing on them, let alone skating on them, would make for a rather precarious perch. No doubt hockey games were not quite as fast moving at that time as they are today and probably triple axels were less common in figure skating. The skates are on display in a case in our main foyer.