MORE ABOUT HARRY RADIX AND RADIX PINS
Harry Radix and wife Ger-
trude married in 1909 and had one child, who died as an in- fant in 1910. The couple never named the baby, who is bur- ied with Harry and Gertrude at Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Ill. Laura Parker, whose father-
in-law, Howard, is a grandson of Radix’s sister Wanda, remem- bers that Harry and Gertrude showed Doberman Pinschers. “They had a lot of china
and valuables in their home and these big dogs would run around and never knock down anything,” Howard once told Laura. Gertrude, who was an im-
migrant from Germany, passed away in 1964. Harry died three days short of his 78th birthday in 1965.
The rich tradition of Radix
pins continues today, with Ash- worth Awards from Boston pro- ducing the coveted hardware. Both U.S. and international
skaters who finish on the podi- um at the U.S. Championships, World Championships and Olympic Winter Games receive the golden blades, with cham- pions getting the blades with the diamond insert. At the U.S. Championships, the pins are presented at the on-ice awards ceremony. Producing the pins is a la-
bor of love, according to Dan Ashworth, owner of Ashworth Awards. “We are proud to be the
manufacturer,” Ashworth said. “When we see the pins and medals presented at events, it’s a proud moment for us.” Ashworth Awards have
been the Radix pins supplier on and off for more than 25 years. Vogan Gold and Silver Works of Colorado Springs, Colo., have also produced the pins in years past. “It’s such a unique design and
so relevant to skating,” Ashworth said. “If someone is wearing the pin, you can tell from across the room that it’s a Radix pin.”
20 AUG./SEPT. 2012
Harry Radix spent his life helping others. His compassion was reflected in his will, in which he gave something to many people, including his doorman and mechanic.
*** Harry’s wife, Gertrude Harry about the time he married in 1909
team manager at the 1952 Olympics, and team manager at the 1956 Games. From 1948 to 1964, Radix attended all the World Championships (the 1961 event was cancelled because of the tragic plane crash). A longtime U.S. Figure Skating board member, he served on numerous committees in his three de- cades of service.
RADIX REWARDS SKATERS WITH PINS In spite of his many achievements and contributions,
it’s that small golden pin that keeps Harry E. Radix’s spirit alive.
Engraved on the blade of each pin is the skater’s accom- plishment, such as “Nat’l Junior Men Champion — 1957.” Te first-place pins always feature a diamond insert in the toe of the skate. Radix, Meiss said, loved ice dancing, so he started
awarding Radix pins to the Midwestern Sectional junior dance champions. From there, he awarded pins at the U.S. Championships, World Championships and Olympic Win- ter Games. In the 1950s, Radix personally awarded the pins on the ice after the medals ceremony. “He loved skating and I think he got a great deal of plea-
sure of giving the pins, because everybody looked forward to them,” Hayes Jenkins said. “He loved the skaters,” Carol Heiss Jenkins said. “I re- member one of my friends didn’t skate well, and he would come up and say, ‘Now, don’t worry. Next year you’ll come back and you’ll be skating well.’ He was very supportive.” Heiss Jenkins said Radix was a rather shy man with a
generous smile. “He was always around,” she said. “I’d always go over
and give him a hug and say hello, and he would say, ‘How are you doing? You look great.’”
PINS HOLD SPECIAL MEMORIES Perhaps it was that generous spirit that makes the Radix
pin so special. Ben Wright, a fixture on the U.S. and international fig-
Harry and Gertrude buried with infant
ure skating scene for the past seven decades, knows the pin well. A past U.S. Figure Skating president, he never earned a pin through competition, but he possesses one just the same. As members of Te Skating Club of Boston, Wright and his late wife, Mary Louise, were supporters of Tenley Albright. Mary Louise, a distinguished judge, had helped Al- bright with her compulsory figures. Albright, the 1953 World titlist, lost the 1954 World Championships to Germany’s Gundi Busch. On her return home, she was met at the airport by only her father Dr. Al- bright, Wright and Mary Louise. Te next year, it was the same trio which gave Albright a send-off at the airport for her trip to the 1955 World Championships in Vienna, Austria. Albright turned to Wright before leaving and handed him her Radix pin. “She said wear it for good luck,” Wright said. “Mary Louise suggested that I put the pin on the underside of the lapel of my jacket. I wore it through Worlds and she regained her title. “When she comes back, there’s Dr. Albright, Mary Lou- ise, me and the entire Boston press corps. I tried to give the pin back to her. She said, ‘Oh no, you earned it.’ I still have it to this day. It’s her 1954 national pin, with the diamond in the toe.” During his presidency, Wright was responsible for car-
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