Candy Jones
I was a junior college student in Concord, California when I first started skating. This was 40 years ago. There were no other forms of transportation, and I didn't drive. In order to go to the San Leandro training club, I had to get on the Greyhound bus into Oakland, and change to a local to go to San Leandro. All total, the ride was 1-1/2 hours one way. I was fortunate to meet another skater from Concord and that was perfect timing, as the Official Training Club opened in Alameda, so I had a ride from then on.
The training club was in an old garage -- it was very cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer. We had small dressing rooms and a bathroom. You walked right out of the dressing room and one foot away was the track. There was a long line out the door to sign in, so you wanted to get there early so you could put on your skates and start to warm up. We were allowed to warm up for about 20 minutes, and then we went into a 20 minute pace. After that we did breakaways, all different kinds of them. We might have a small scrimmage, and then we did another 20 minute pace to end the session. I had moved to San Francisco in order to go to college, and another skater lived near me, so we went every night of the week, and then we went on the weekends for the two sessions (beginners and advanced). We just paced mostly with the beginners and did small things and demonstrated. Then we went right into the advanced class and started our 20 minute pacing and the rest. The weekends at the last 1/2 hour, we were allowed to work on things and scrimmage and that was a lot of fun.
After we skated, a lot of us went across the street to the Doggie Diner for cokes and just talked forever about skating. Along the way in training, I tore up my knee so badly -- I fell face first low into a turn and my knee went under the track. It is still numb today. I also broke my thumb taking a rail. We continued with our training, and Buddy would call you aside and tell you you were a substitute on a certain team the next night or so. So you went to the auditorium where nobody knew you, were shown the dressing rooms, and went in and there was a big batch of uniforms on the floor and you picked any one that didn't have a player's initials on the tag. When the captains showed up, they usually weren't happy with the new kids from the training club and made a few comments. We knew we weren't any good, but we were there. You tried to fit in, but it was awful. I was scared, and since I was short, I needed to move down the track to get on in a lower spot than the turn. Then you didn't know what bench you sat on, so you had to wait to see somebody put something down and then you could put your stuff down. You warmed up with skaters you had watched on TV, so that made me even more nervous. Some people were nice, but most of them were skaters who were getting ready for the game. The big dread was the pace with men and women, where the men came on the inside and whipped you. I was so worried that I would fall and wipe everyone out. During the game I was constantly blocked back in the pack and was always scrambling to get back to the front. Finally Joanie Weston tripped over me and in the time out, she told Janet Earp that I was her responsibility to keep in the front. I could have died! I got through the game somehow.
The second time I skated, when I walked through the door, Joanie said "you're kidding" and immediately went looking for Jerry Seltzer. At least I had improved some more (it had been a month since I last skated on a team), and I was able to stay in the front. But I was so disappointed that Joanie didn't want me I could have cried. The next time I was assigned to a team for their two week run. Barbara Anderson was the captain and she was very nice to us all. Sandy Calloway was on the team and really was fun and I felt like I was a part of something. I was able to keep up and whip out the jammers and do a lot more than I had done before, even though I was scared to death. The the end of the two week series, I was really liking skating and felt like I was improving each night (probably no one else could see it). Next time the Cardinals came in, Annis Jensen was the captain. Somebody grabbed me and started yelling at me, and Annis broke it up and said that nobody messes with her new kids, to come to her. She was great. She would tell you what you did wrong and how to do it right. I really learned a lot from her.
After that series, back to the training club. I had improved a lot (at least from Buddy's comment that I would never make it in this sport), and since I was skating every night, I built up a lot of stamina. Then I was called in to substitute on the Bombers for Suzie Wong, who had broken her leg. Joanie didn't say anything when I came into the dressing room -- I dreaded her hating me right off the bat. But I was a better skater and I improved every night and I would do anything anybody asked of me. Suzie was always coming back at one time or another, and finally she just didn't come back and I stayed on the team. I was offered to go on the road with the Bombers, and I quit college and went. It was the best -- I was a very naive 19-year old, and the road was the best experience of my life. I really learned to skate, was able to go on jams, and I was finally a skater -- not a very good one, but improving every day.
Candy Jones