SKATERS HOLD RADIX PINS CLOSE TO THEIR HEARTS The Radix pin is a symbol of
excellence in figure skating, and many athletes have their pins in a special place at their homes, or have created unique jewelry that they wear on special occasions. A few of those skaters shared
their Radix pin stories with SKAT- ING magazine.
KELLEY MORRIS-ADAIR She earned three first-place
Radix pins during her career as an ice dancer in the 1970s. The pins are individually linked together on a gold chain. Peter Murfitt, an adult skater
and jeweler, made the necklace for Morris-Adair as a gift for help- ing him through some dance tests. “He asked me about the pins one summer and offered to make the necklace so I could wear it more often,” she said. “I wear the necklace at most skating events. People still comment on how beautiful the necklace is because they don’t see pins very often.” Morris-Adair earned the pins when she was 14 and admits she didn’t fully understand the meaning of them. “I thought they were very cool because of the diamonds,” she said. “But as my coaching career
moved on and our teams started to win and receive Radix pins, I realized how much these small pins represented the enormity of a skating career, all the work, the family sacrifices, all the people in- volved in the journey. “I love wearing my necklace and do so proudly. The diamonds now are little shining beams that honor Mr. Radix, the sport and my family and friends that made my journey possible.”
She competed during the
early 1970s and earned Radix pins in junior pairs, novice ladies and junior ladies. Brandel Stern considers the
pendant a “hard-earned badge of honor to wear.”
MELISSA GREGORY Gregory’s late mother had
two of the skater’s Radix pins made into a charm for a necklace. Gregory is the 1998 U.S. junior ice dancing champion, six-time senior medalist, four-time World competitor and 2006 Olympian. The charm necklace is in a
jewelry box at her parents’ house in Chicago. “It’s a very special memory of
my mother,” Gregory said. “She was a big part of my life and my career. I will keep it forever and pass it down to my daughter.”
SHERYL FRANKS Franks had five of her Radix
LAURIE BRANDEL STERN Brandel Stern’s parents
turned her four Radix pins into a pendant for the skater. Each blade had the pin removed and then the toe and heel were soldered onto the twisted gold frame.
pins linked together on a gold chain. She is a four-time U.S. pairs bronze medalist, four-time World competitor and 1980 Olympian “I don’t get to wear it, because
I don’t get dressed up much to skating events or special occa- sions for that matter, but I love it and I know right where it is,” she said. “However, I’m not sure where the medals are.”
NAOMI LANG Lang, a five-time U.S. cham-
pion ice dancer and World and Olympic competitor, displays her coveted Radix pins in a case with her medals.
JIMMIE SANTEE The executive director of the
Professional Skaters Association, Santee wears his Radix pins at competitions. Santee earned his pins in the 1970s as the novice and junior men’s champion and as the bronze junior men’s med- alist.
TONIA KWIATKOWSKI “I have four gold ones and
two silver ones,” Kwiatkowski said. “They have great meaning to me because of the tradition of them being awarded to the med- alists at the U.S. Championships. I know a lot of hard work went into those performances and it was an honor to have received them.” Kwiatkowski is the 1996 U.S.
silver medalist and a World com- petitor.
RAY BELMONTE Belmonte medaled in junior
pairs in the late 1970s. He has his Radix pin in a shadow box with his medal and a photo of the po- dium.
rying the Radix pins to the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
“I was one of two referees for Dorothy
Hamill,” Wright said. “After she won, I had the pins with me. I handed them out all over. I went down and pinned the pin on Dorothy before she went out for her medal ceremony. So she’s wear- ing the Radix pin. If you find a photograph, you can see the pin on her.” Olympic champion Scott Hamilton is wear- ing his Radix pin in the film RISE, Wright added. Janet Gerhauser Carpenter, a member of
the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and 1952 Olympian, owns two Radix pins. “I keep them in a very special place where I have some other skating jewelry that is important
to me,” she said. When she judged major events, Carpenter wore the pins. During Carpenter’s competitive career, she skated in the Midwest and often crossed paths with Radix. “He was just about the friendliest, nicest
man; very jovial, with a twinkle in his eye,” she said. “He was very friendly to the skaters, and in those days officials weren’t always that friendly. He was fun. He would dance at the parties. I think of him as a very positive, very fun person.” Carpenter’s fours and pairs partner, John
Nightingale, doesn’t recall many details about Radix and the pins, but his wife, 1952 U.S. bronze medalist Helen Geeke, does. “It was nice because he gave those pins out,
you got them right way,” she said. “He contrib- uted these with his own money. I just think he truly loved skating and skaters. He didn’t horse around. He was very much a gentleman. Every- one knew who Harry Radix was.” Hayes Jenkins said it was nice to have Radix
at events. “Te kids were comfortable with him, par-
ticularly at the Worlds and Olympics,” he said. In addition to the pins, Radix gave special
jewelry to skaters and their families. Carol Heiss Jenkins received a special Ra- dix pin with eight diamonds aligned down the side of a skate blade for each of the tests that she passed en route to earning a spot on the Olympic team. Tat Olympic pin holds special meaning,
SKATING 21
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