My father was remembering back to when I was a kid and mentioned that one of the things he enjoyed most, was watching me from the window at dusk, as I skated up and down our block wearing a pair of Union skates, with the steel wheels.
Why?
Because the bits of flint in the cement of the sidewalk would cause sparks, and as it got dark you could see the sparks as I flew past the house.
Things your kids will never know - old school tech!
These skates were tough, and unless you skated on dirt or grass instead of the sidewalk, left them out in the rain, or lost a skate, it wasn't likely that you would ever need more than 1 pair over the course of your childhood. (I managed to wear out a pair a year, though, with the amount of skating I did)
They were completely adjustable (with a key)...one size fits all...and fit over your shoes. With how popular they were, it was probably the reason why kids sneakers all had that rubber toe back in those days.
Around 1980 they started disappearing, as well as the old style rubber toed sneakers, when Rollerblades came along.
My daughter has never actually seen a pair of these skates, other than in pictures, and it was rather tough finding a good pic of them online. I have often wished as she was growing up, that they never went out of style, as it would have been a lot cheaper for me not to have to buy her a new pair of skates every time her feet grew.
