An Interview with
Kathryn Coram Gagnon

Excerpt from: Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul’s Historic Black Community

Syren Books, September 2005

Part II - Skating at the Hollow

The Hollow Playground was where I learned to skate. And I was good! If you were at my house, I would show you my medals and trophies from speed skating. Anyway, my dad had started me skating as a very young child, and had taken me up to the Hollow to skate. And as I got a little bit older, it turned out that I was pretty good. The Hollow was about a half a block from my house, and I won a little race up there, and then the next level of that particular competition was held at Phalen Lake. In that particular race, I used my father’s speed skates, which we stuffed with paper so my feet would fit! And I won that! That would be about 1943.

The Midway Speed Skating Club was the big club in Saint Paul. It was basically the only club that sponsored speed skating and coached. None of these clubs had Black kids in them. When Shop Pond gang decided they wanted to establish a speed skating club, they had a competition for kids who were not in Midway, and I won! And they were all excited until they found out I was Black. And then that was it. They never invited me into the club.

Now a year or two later, Mrs. Christoferson, who was the mother of the Midway Speed Skating Club, finally managed to get them to accept me into the club. By now, this is high school. At that time, there were no other Black kids involved. And this is talking about nationally. As a result of my getting involved, there were some other Black kids who came behind me and started doing some speed skating.

Next: < Part III - Hallie Q. Brown Community Center >

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