Let Children Skate on Sidewalks, Says Mount Airy News, March 25, 1920

From The Mount Airy News, Thursday, March 25, 1920

Let the Children Skate

The Elkin Tribune of March 18^th made the following comment on the children skating on the sidewalks.

“Recently we have noticed little girls using the streets and sidewalks for roller skating purposes. There is no doubt but that this is a pleasant pastime for them, and from which they obtain real pleasure. But have they once thought what danger there is in it for them, or how annoying it is for those who use the streets and sidewalks for what they were made for? A broken leg or a crushed skull is a heavy penalty to pay for a few minutes pleasure in skating on the smooth sidewalk, but this is liable to happen at any moment.”

Skating on roller skates is indeed a popular and pleasant pastime for the girls and boys of Mount Airy and the tiny tots of 4 and 5 years get quite as much pleasure and profit out of the exercise here as the older children.

Doubtless several hundred children here are the proud owners of a pair of skates.

We have not heard of a single broken limb or crushed skull as a result of all this skating; neither have we heard a single complaint from pedestrians being annoyed or inconvenienced by the sport.

The children are happy, therefore good natured and quick to give passersby the right of way, and we can hardly imagine any one being so far removed from their own happy carefree childhood as to resent other people’s children getting all the happiness they can out of life.

We would say to our Elkin friends, let the children skate. If necessary set apart a whole strip of walk on a quiet street for the children’s skating ground. They will be stronger men and women in the coming years for the healthful exercise. Play is necessary in the development of the young, and we have seen children who have skates sharing with those who have none, thereby developing a fine sense of brotherhood and generosity.

We are glad to know that Elkin children are beginning to use the sidewalks for a skating ground. It is a sure sign of progress and by this sign, if there were no other way, we would know that Elkin is coming to the front.

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