Marbles

Marbles of clay or stone had been around for ages, but they didn't become hugely popular until a German glassblower came up with a way to make them in 1846. Then, in Akron Ohio, S. C. Dyke developed a method of producing several at one time in the early 1890's. Around the turn of the century, a number of American companies were manufacturing them.

There are many games that can be played with marbles, but I only remember playing two. In the common one, a circle is drawn in the dirt, and everyone antes up one or more marbles, which are placed in the center. The players take turns shooting from outside the circle, and they keep any they knock out. If some are hit but not knocked out, they're left where they land. If the shooter doesn't make it out, it stays there, too, and its owner must produce another marble to shoot with. Many use a larger marble for the shooter. I wasn't the best marble player, but I never lost many of my marbles and usually walked away with a few more than I came with.

The second game I only vaguely remember, because I rarely played this one. It involved throwing a marble to hit an opponent's marble and didn't have a circle drawn. I can remember I didn't like to play it as well, but I don't remember the rules.

In Uprooted by War, the third manuscript in my Appalachian Roots Series, Patrick gets some marbles for a Christmas present one year. They were certainly available around the time of the Civil War. Children played with them for years. However, with video games, I'm not sure these games will ever be really popular again.

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