Marbles
They have probably been around for thousands of years. Now you don’t see any children playing with them. I’m talking about marbles. They were real popular back in the 1950’s. At every recess, you could find any number of circles drawn in the dirt with several boys gathered around waiting for their turn to plunk the opponent’s marble out of the ring. Some boys had a real knack of zeroing in on a desired marble and making it just fly out of the ring. I was never very good so I usually didn’t play “for keeps”.
Along the way certain marbles were declared ineligible. “Steelies” gave the shooter a distinct advantage due to the weight difference, so they were not allowed. These were actually ball bearings. “Bummies” were oversized marbles and were also not allowed. Their larger size made for a distinct advantage. Your shooter was usually slightly larger but not to be mistaken for a “bummie”. I always liked the “cat’s eye” type of marble. They remind you of some of the paper weights of the day. Very pretty.
Just about every boy had his marble bag with his treasured marbles. It was really a very simple game and the ability of a boy to knock one out of the ring and “stick” was an advantage. If you just hit one that went just short of the ring line, the next shooter could get that one real easy. The techniques used by the shooters varied. Some boys seemed to have just the right method of aiming and hitting anything they shot at, while making their marble stick in the ring.
Early marbles were made out of clay. Some clay marbles have been found that are 2-3,000 years old. Like I said, it is a simple game and can be played by any boy with any degree of skill. Of course, like me, if they played for keeps, they quickly lost all their marbles.
The old marbles can be quite beautiful. Several placed in any type of clear glass container make for a nice and colorful display. They can be found at flea markets, antique shops and any number of venues for a variety of prices. They don’t have to be expensive to be very attractive.
The game of marbles is all but forgotten by the youth of today. Electronic games have taken over their interests. Of course, if I want my computer straightened out, I have to ask a young person. Maybe they are smarter, but I’ll bet they don’t have as much fun.
8 comments:
My favorite types of jewelry are marble and Titanic coal.The marbles are typically cut directly in half and mounted in a necklace or ring.Titanic coal has been literally removed from the wreck of the Titanic and cut into all sorts of configurations.Other than the nostalgia it's no different than any other coal jewelry,and it comes with a guarantee of authenticity.Coal makes beautiful jewelry.marbles do also.Great post as always George.
I remember the saying "have you lost your marbles" , of course meaning brains.
I could go into a marble shoot with 100 marbles and come out with 2 or 3,so 9:23 might be on to something.One boy had a steel ball bearing that he called a marble,but I just called it cheating.
Great post, George!
Just as you described, recess could find dozens of us around a shooting circle. Our circles were often made of a large loop of string that one of us carried around in our marble bags.
I was good at what we called "lagging" you would lag to determine who went first. I rememberthe term, lags for me none for you.
As usual George, a great memory. I was good enough to come out on top on many of those marble shoots. For a farm boy that was money in my pocket most of the time. Oops, not always. You had to now your players like any other game. Thanks for the memory. Sam Smullen
Nice memory...thanks!
And some girls had their bags of marbles, too!
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