Steps: 3,264,916
Miles: 1364.21
Dorothy Hamill, born July 26, 1956, won the Gold Medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics, and captivated the world, not only with her figure skating but ... with her hairstyle (which became a fad) and pleasing personality. She was an inductee of the U.S., Olympic, and World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and headlined the Ice Capades for seven years and even briefly owned the show for a couple years. She has more recently performed as a guest star with Champions on Ice.
So what does this have to do with Atlantic City, the home of a number of casinos, boardwalks, beaches, amusements galore, the Miss America Pagent, the Steel Pier with the diving horse and Captains Starns?
Well, my paternal Grandmother had three close friends, in addition to the cleaning lady - one of them was Florence, whom my brothers and I called Grandmom Florence, and Hazel and Henry who were "honorary Aunt and Uncle". Uncle Henry, Aunt Hazel, and Grandmom Florence would go to the beach on Long Beach Island, and stayed in a cottage about 10 blocks from where my brother, parents, and grandparents stayed. Uncle Henry had a sense of humor most would call "groaners", he enjoyed jokes like "Hey! wait up! - that's what broke the wagon down", and "What time is it? It's two-thirty - ouch! time to see the dentist!" to no end (and repeatedly).
Each summer - when the Ice Capades came to Atlantic City, the bunch of us would go to the Atlantic City Convention Center to watch, year after year.
1976 was the Bicentennial - and the winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck Austria. You may remember, if old enough, 25–year-old West German skier Rosi Mittermaier winning two golds and Franz Klammer "flying" down the hill to take the gold in the men's downhill. But my younger brother was enamored with Dorothy and we saw and heard little else.
So what could be more perfect than a trip to Atlantic City with the "summer gang", teasing my brother about "her", and seeing the Ice Capades with "her" headlining the show? - Well, how about someone's brother getting her autograph?**
I think I've been back to Atlantic City only twice since then. Once to see a boat show, and the other time just to ride the train there from Philadelphia and back.
A nice bunch of pictures of Atlantic City
**The picture shown is not the actual autograph my brother got.
5 comments:
That's really cute about your brother liking Dorothy Hamill. It was great that he was able to get her autograph, too.
I loved going to Atlantic City....walking on the boardwalk, seeing all of the excitement and the lights in the casinos, and of course, hearing all of those slot machines going ching ching ching ching. :) The last time we were there was in 1996 when we took Marty with us.
In 1976 my daughter, Tessa, was 4 and my son, Greg, was 2. I remember vividly watching Dorothy Hammill on TV while they twirlled around the living room pretending they were ice skating. I'll bet your brother was in heaven when he got her autograph! I've never been to Atlantic City but one of these days...
Atlantic City....Under The Boardwalk....LOL Don't theylike gamble there? "Little vegas"?
I met Johnny Weismuller once...Tarzan the monky man!! Had his autograph but after all these years I don't know where that damn picture went.
What a great memory. Never been to Atlantic City. Really should make plans and head that way one of these days now that we're so close....
I've never been to Atlantic City. Not sure if I'll ever get there at this rate.
I vaguely remember 1976, considering I turned seven that year. About all I remember are the bicentennial quarters that came out. My mom started collecting them, I guess thinking they might be worth something some day? LOL
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