Before skateboarding there was sidewalk surfing

I’m not entirely certain when the phenomenon arrived here in Maine, but as memory serves, my first recollection of sidewalk surfing with skateboards in Bangor started about 1965. According to Wikipedia, the skateboarding encyclopedia, the hobby originated during the 1950s as an offshoot of surfing.

I am sure of one thing: Today’s skateboarders probably have no memory of the sport’s history in our region.

The unique feature of the competitive nature of skateboarding today is its direct relation to the snowboarding craze. Personally, I never made the connection myself until I witnessed a competition on ESPN, followed by a series of interviews, which saw contestants speak to the relevance of one competition to another.

It was quite a thrill to ride those skateboards when we were kids. When I was a student at the old Fifth Street Junior High School in Bangor, we had a kid who put together quite an array of boards that he made himself in his dad’s woodshop. Now, Tommy was pretty clever. His father owned a popular restaurant in town down by the old railroad station, and when Tom was finished his summer chores – I can still smell the great food – he’d scurry home and begin putting together his orders for boards.

My, this kid was talented.

Back in those days, one could order a fiberglass board – they were really neat – or a standard wooden version.

Tom used rollerskate wheels, and he made sure that each of his creations was fitted perfectly to the owner.

Personally, I chose a wooden board with white wheels. As memory serves, Tommy drew a fancy design on the board’s surface and burned the pattern into the wood.

What a time I had on that thing. This was my pre-license to drive days, and I took the thing all over town. Truth be told, the thing took me all over town.

The day began with chores, of course, but on the weekends and in the summertime, down the hill I’d go from my Highland Avenue house, down Highland Avenue, onto Ohio Street, and I’d catch Hammond and usually end up at the YMCA.

There, I’d have my standard fare of lemonade and a whoopee pie, and if someone was up for a game of pool, I might stay a little longer.

Back in those days, we had no skate parks or huge jumps to entertain us and worry our parents. I’m guessing there was enough anxiety associated with seeing two or three kids racing down the hills of the Queen City that no theme park was needed to increase parents’ heart rates.

We were always conscious of traffic, and we strictly obeyed the same rules we did when we rode our bikes.

Once we mastered the technique of stopping, it became a neat trick to step off, flip the back end of the board up, then catch it. That trick, my friends, took a considerable bit of coordination to pull off without losing your balance and falling into the street.

Looking back, I wonder how I would have done on a snowboard. I had pretty good balance. My son, Todd, is quite a snowboarder, but he never maneuvered a skateboard in his school days through the streets of Bangor. It was probably just as well because patience is not one of his strong suits, and, quite frankly, the snow drifts don’t talk back.

30-second timeout

Public education in Maine lost a good friend recently with the passing of Carroll Nightingale.

Mr. Nightingale was a well-respected teacher, coach, and administrator in several school districts in Maine.

Whatever Carroll touched in education turned to gold. He had quite a head for business matters. Carroll was also an avid golfer and turned down numerous requests for superintendent positions after his retirement.

Mr. Nightingale will be missed by all who knew him. His legacy was one of excellence.

BDN columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net