RolleyHoleMan

The final games were very interesting. Man it was the best showcase of Rolley Hole I’ve seen since I’ve been in it, but I’ll focus only on the last two games since it’s 2am and I just got home. This year we actually had a game for who came in 3rd and 4th place. Since 3rd and 4th have the same purse, the folks usually don’t bother staying and actually playing it. That game was Jack Tinsley and Kenzie Adams VS a team of Chris Graves and a fellow I’m forgetting. Because it’s not a serious game it was filled with a lot of good banter, jokes, etc which you see in a casual game. Pretty good funny stuff that folks don’t see much. The final game was something wild. It was Saylor and Powell Walden vs Robert and Dylan (I think) Emberton. Man it was an intense game. I had a group around me hanging onto every word I said as I went play by play. Amazing shots were exchanged as every player was for outs. What happened was Saylor made an amazing shot, but his marble bounced off the opponents and landed right in the hole. The crowd gasped and Saylor hung his head. That left Powell by himself and Robert and Dylan in span. When Powell missed his shot, the Embertons quickly spanned in. That was one hardcore game. I forget who was next to who. I think I know the man you’re talking about. He got into flint knapping which here is a slippery slope into marble making. This year I didn’t get any flints, but got well over 100lbs of fine rocks. Enough for a ton of marbles if they’re any good.

The lineup is pretty good this year. These later games are pretty intense.

I sure hope it stays that way. We’re pretty excited for it (as is tradition). I talked with Bobby today and he’s going to be there, and I of course plan on being there. There’s also a Bud Garret tribute band playing at the Celina courthouse which means the Rolley Hole museum should be open. They’ve gotten some really cool additions like Buds marble machine and a ton of marbles from famous players.

Remember folks, Rolley Hole is rapidly approaching. September 13th will be the main day this year at Standing Stone State Park!

That is up to debate because we aren’t really sure. I’d say if you lean it against the quarter it’ll count. It’s one of those things none of us have been able to do yet since the marble always bounces off. When a player goes out you keep on with the regular order, just without that player. It is A1, B1, A2, B2. So if player B1 is out, it’ll be A1,A2,B2. If player A1 is out, it’ll be B1,A2,B2. It’s always a challenge to go out and you have to do it at the right time, because if you are the first to go out, the opposing team will have 2 back to back shots at knocking you away. So when watching a game, let’s say the remaining player of team B in the first example is within span. Player A1 shoots and misses, then Player A2 shoots and misses. As soon as that shot is missed you can see, feel, and even hear (gasps, signs, etc) the missed shot in the crowd. The entire atmosphere changes. When I’m at Rolley Hole I get folks to really pay attention to this. I would say the most interesting and exciting part of the game is the final shot of the losing team. Everyone is on the edge of their seats, and the tension followed by the release is immense. This is usually when the inexperienced spectator finally understands it, and it’s the best part of the game to explain what all is happening.

Today we did make it to Rolley Hole. I did a 3 hour combo of talking and playing the game. Got some folks hooked on it now. We used quarters instead of the key rings since I lost them.

Tomorrow will be the big marble day, and I’ve been telling folks to prepare to set aside the time. I’ve been hyping folks up, and have been able to continuously talk about Rolley Hole for upwards of 2 hours with no stops, all while keeping people engaged. It’s been a wild ride, but I’ve gotten roughly 20 folks who are committed to go to Rolley Hole. Since many full time positions are filled by the people in this program, it looks like there will soon be a large base of full-time folks who love and appreciate it.

So far I have not gotten to try it, but have been keeping 3 smaller rings ready to go. I need to measure them and see what size they are. This week I’ll have some folks who are really interested, so this will be the right time with the right folks. The last couple weeks have been pretty exhausting so I haven’t done the best talking about the game. I’ve been tied up putting that bridge in down in your area at rainbow lake trailhead, but we make time to talk a little marbles down there.

Hey Folks, after 3 years I finally found the full song "Rolley Hole Man" on an unopened cassette in the archives. I was trying to move a box that was above my head, and since it had some weight to it I just popped the lid, felt around, and pulled out the first thing I could get a grip on. It was a sealed copy of this tape, followed by over 20 others. Here is the link: Rolley Hole Man

Now the thing about holes is no matter how you get them, it’s not to everyone’s preference. Some holes have more wiggle room and different depths from yard to yard. What I was taught was wet the area you want a hole, and push your marble into it until it’s half way in. From there you can smooth down the sharp edge made. A fresh hole may make it harder to knock a marble out of. Once the edges are worn it’s a bit better. Depth can of course cause issues as well. But as Bobby would say, it’s as fair to one as it is to the other.

So yes, a player can make a hole and decide to “lay” in that hole as defense. This has mixed results since players are usually darn good at knocking those marbles back out of the hole. Staying in the hole is also dangerous because if a player is for that hole, they can lightly hit the marble defending the hole, and lean their marble against it, making that hole. Once they lean against and “make” that hole, they’ll usually blast the opponents marble out of the hole. Pt2 of that. You could hit the marble defending the hole, and ride up to the next hole. This will give you another shot letting you get even closer to your desired hole. This is why players defending a hole are more likely to be a couple feet away. It reduces the risk of giving an advantage and extra turn if the marble is hit. About spanning, you do not have to shoot. The “span” is a hands length in a circle around your marble. Anywhere in that circle you can place your marble without shooting. The key rings are a great idea. I might have to start using that one when teaching Rolley Hole in a couple weeks. That would be better than string loops and better than quarters. Hopefully that wasn’t confusing. I’ll also point out that the term “lay” is used usually when a player decides to not take a turn. As in they’ll say “I’ll lay”. Another thing is the shooting order. When you lay, you are not giving the next turn to your teammate, you are giving it to your opponent. Now different yards might have different orders, but at standing stone is: A1 B1 A2 B2 Some places do: A1 A2 B1 B2 But when I talk about rules and whatnot, I only talk about Standing Stone since it is a “standardized” tournament.

I’m the newest ranger for the Cumberland trail. My role so far is mostly trail building and folklife. During my off time I work on this channel and have a ton of videos on a posting schedule to keep a steady stream. Some videos I’ve posted, like the Dumas Walker interviews, I’m already working on making into a longer length and higher quality. Seems as I make and post things, I learn to make them better. Some of these videos are not just good, but they’re teaching me things I didn’t know, or had long suspected. For instance marble size was reduced according to one of the sources, which finally confirmed it. Another interview also talks about two players having very similar looking marbles but of slightly different sizes. One of the players thought it would be funny to sneakily swap marbles, and both players started missing shots and wondering what was wrong. Bobby taught me a lot about marbles and it all came from these interviews, all of which are stored here at the CT and will be on the channel. No one can ever replace Bobby, but the best we can do is save and share what he did.

Hey folks, here is something related to Rolley Hole to keep an eye on. Here at the Cumberland Trail we have the lifelong work of Bobby Fulcher who is the father of the tournament at Standing Stone. What I’ve done is create a YouTube channel where I will be uploading the recorded interviews he has with folks for the Tennessee state parks folklife project. This will cover many amazing things, but starting out (since I have photos of these folks for the video), I am posting interviews with legendary marble player Dumas Walker (made famous by the Kentucky Headhunters song of the same name).Next on the list is Bud Garret, who was a famous marble maker who gave us the way we make marbles today. https://m.youtube.com/@JPWCTA I don’t know how often I’ll post on there since each video takes a long time to make. I first find the audio cd, heavily edit to remove the sound of the tape machine and tape hiss, then convert it to a video format. I then edit the video where the only visual is a photo of the person being interviewed. From there I post it. Each step takes a very long time unfortunately, and I do this on my own time after work. So far I’ve heard many amazing bits of Rolley Hole lore from folks who were there. It really helps paint a full picture of the last 100 or so years of Rolley Hole. I will warn you all though, this is Tennessee/Kentucky dialect and can be hard to understand. I’ve got a bit of an accent myself so I can understand these videos well, but folks talking to me often have no idea what I’m saying. So be warned.

They’re very hard to find outside the area, but a few of the marble makers sell online on Etsy and I’ve done both eBay and Etsy. The market is pretty though so most just sell in person at the event. There are always marbles for sale in the Standing Stone State Park gift shop though. Typically these are more polished and pretty. Players all have different needs when it comes to finish, with some preferring a slick marble that slips from the hand with ease, while other want a gritty marble that gives more grip. So you’ll have to find what size you like, and what finish works best. I play with one that’s maybe 100 grit, and polish them up to 6000. Those 6000 ones are like glass.

As a good side note here, the folks never would call me a marble player. They know I’m plain no good. But they would openly call me a marble maker. Some folks who want a marble are picky. I swear they can feel a thousandth of an inch. Those folks know by holding a marble if it’ll be any good for them.