An Analysis of a Depression Era Ice Skate
Outdoor activity seems to have always played an important part in
childhood, particularly in America. Virtually every treatment of
childhood in American culture, cinematic or textual, involves children
playing outside. These ice skates are a prime example. There is nothing
extraordinary about their metal construction. They are quite simple,
unadorned save for the clover at the toe. I don't particularly know what
to make of it, but I think that it is probably just a decoration. The
clover may have been chosen because of its association with luck. This
artifact relates to the Depression in that it would have been easy to
mass produce it cheaply and efficiently. The skate ties into Greenbelt in
that one of the most striking features of the town is the abundance of
outdoor space designated for recreation.
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