A Game of Rolley Hole, Anyone?
(Page 2 of 3)
September/October 2008
Linda Shockley
“It’s possible to grow up here without playing rolley hole,” says Bob Fulcher, manager of the Cumberland Trail State Park, “but not likely, given the fact that everyone’s grandfather and almost everybody’s father played it. It would have been truly impossible 70 years ago when rolley hole was the game of the schoolyard, with marble yards at the courthouse, scattered about home places, everywhere really.”
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On the wane
Still, for more than a decade surrounding the 1970s, this was a game on the wane, particularly after the deaths of legendary player Dumas Walker (made famous in a song by the Kentucky Headhunters; check your local music store or visit the Web for downloads) and marble maker/blues musician Bud Garrett. In 1983, only one active marble yard each remained in Tennessee and Kentucky. That’s when Fulcher initiated the first annual National Rolley Hole Marbles Championship at Standing Stone State Park, 100 miles east of Nashville.
Shawn Hughes, interpretive specialist at Standing Stone State Park, says, “The park constructed a marble yard and held the championship in 1983 to re-establish and maintain marble traditions in the area. This initiative began one of the most effective public sector folklife projects in Tennessee State Parks’ history. Interest among individuals and communities burst forth, so that 20 yards were constructed or rehabilitated over the next few years, and children resumed playing the game with their families and at schools. And, it still continues today.”
The annual national event, free to guests and participants, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, drawing all ages, male and female. It drew 17 teams in 2007, plus 42 additional people in four other tournaments: ringer, Georgia rolley hole, British and Tennessee square. Players hailed from Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland and Indiana, along with spectators from throughout the United States.
Guests also enjoyed live music, marble-making demonstrations, and marble-shooting lessons, games and hunts for the youngsters. Hughes says, “It’s a one-of-a-kind family experience that promotes the game, showcases marble history and culture, and solidifies the status of the local marble playing and making traditions among the younger generations. We know that when we attract younger players through exposure and participation, they become devotedly attached to it.”