Thanks for posting those fabulous pics, Charley. I was never a skater myself, but Raydine's is, of course, one of those names that instantly recalls the Marin of yore to those of us who lived there in... uh, the yore.
As I mentioned, the Corte Madera rink was also called Raydine Ice Skating. It was the last rink that Ray Schramm built in Marin. Ray's wife was named Nadine... hence the name.
Ray and his twin brother Roy skated an act in the Ice Follies with both hands and feet handcuffed together. Before Ray left the show and moved to Marin, he skated an act with his wife.
I grew up in Mill Valley and learned to ice skate at Raydine Ice Skating rink. I recently reconnected with Hetti Schramm, the daughter of Ray Schramm who owned the rink. She lent me these great photos of the first rink in Mill Valley built in 1954 which is now Goodman's Lumber (the man in the photos is Ray). Later on, Ray built a larger rink in San Anselmo (the first rink was tiny) and after that built a new building for a rink in Corte Madera which is now Gold's Gym.
My 9-year old daughter has started skating and so Dad is back on the ice again. I am in touch with a couple of the skaters from that time. I'd loved to hear from any skaters who remember my sister Wendy (we skated as a brother/sister act) and me. If you have any pix of the San Anselmo rink, I'd love to see them.
The third photo is of a Christmas ice show at Raydine's in San Anselmo. My sister Wendy is on the left, Sandy Hodson center (her mother Galdys directed the Marin Ballet Aquacades) and me.
