RolleyHoleMan

Hey all, thought I’d share this. I’m by no means an expert and this project took around 14 hours since I struggled at it a little and had some difficulty getting this marble down to size. For those who do not know, I am from Standing Stone State Park, home of the national Rolley Hole Championship. I teach this game and lately most days someone comes seeking it out. I have taught many people how to play along with the local significance of the game, but what I have not done until recently is actually make a marble. During this process I gave many people a taste of the process but due to the time, many only got bits and pieces. This particular marble is made from (according to the bag of raw material) Tennessee quartz. This is locally referred to as “flint” but I believe it is a type of churt. Due to how Rolley Hole is played, glass marbles won’t do and are easily broken due to their hardness. This material better survives the impact and generally rough gameplay by being a little softer and less brittle. We start with locally found materials that is then cut into blocks. From there we grind the edges and then grind the new edges until getting a cylinder roughly, then grind the tops to a taper. From there the rough orb is put into cups made of old grinding wheels and sharpening stones and spun with a rubber wheel. This can be dangerous a personally I ended up dotting my marble with blood from hitting my fingers on the wheel. Theres YouTube videos that better describe the process, but it truly is a labor of love. Most of the marbles makers where or are Rolley Hole players which adds the personal touch. many of my files are failing to upload, but hopefully this gives an idea. The best way to see this process is by attending the 40th Rolley Hole September 16th. I hope y’all enjoy!

Small update, but we are getting many of last years music lineup back for the 40th. Some bigger titles are still on the fence. Every day is another day closer to Rolley Hole! As of late, I have been doing more Rolley Hole programs so if anyone is in the area, check the program schedule under "events" on the park website. We have many scheduled and more yet to be posted. On June 20th (I think) I will be doing a program for a museum in Chattanooga so I have to brush up on my poor shooting skills and some more odds and ends history. For those who have kept up with history and recent media coverage, I did talk with Bobby Fulcher about the recent CBS coverage and we had similar views on it. The CBS video we do like for the attention, however they made Rolley Hole into a seemingly unobtainable and unleanrable game, which is FALSE. The CBS anchor that was with us even played in games of Rolley Hole, so when he said "we would like to tell you the rules... but even we don't know what they are" is false. He then started interviewing people who did not know how to play and he picked his people wisely to portray this theme. So do not be afraid. I can get anyone going in a game right off the bat and teach as the game progresses. Is it difficult to do strategy? Yes! Is it difficult to play and learn with other park guests? No! I had an 8 year old a few days ago telling her grandfather what moves to make, and she was correct. She could not shoot, but he was secretly an old Rolley Hole player from Moss, so he kept us on our toes and told us about his past after the game. He had not played in nearly 50 years. Rolley Hole is a hard game to set up and play right when it comes to building a yard and obtaining marbles, but it is not an enigma. Shooting is difficult and if you start past your 20's they say you will never be that good, which is true for me. But this is in comparison to people who have been playing their whole lives. So come on by! During Rolley Hole visitors will not be able to play, so keep that in mind. I have already had someone on this forum visit and we had a great time. So as long as people visit before and after the tournament, they will be able to get down in the dirt with me and play the game. Of course I am not saying make the treck to Tennessee just to play marbles, but if anyone wants to make it a stop, let me know.

Hey all, I have been a bit busy but while working I found a ton of old scanned newspaper and magazene articles about Rolley Hole and marbles at Standing Stone State Park. There is also a good looking document on Bud Garret (the marbles maker). I have not had time to do much reading, but went ahead and scanned it all in. Marbles newspapers 2 .pdf Marbles newspapers 1.pdf Marbles festivle news.pdf Marbles delivered news.pdf Bud Garret.pdf

I was not sure where to really put this thread, but as many know this year is the 40th Rolley Hole tournament at Standing Stone State Park in Hilham, TN. As things progress I will try to update here. Planning is still in its infancy but we are working on coming up for ideas and such to get the younger crowd and non locals interested in attending. We’re planning on making it a bit bigger but again, this is the early stages. After this year I will be working at another park and will no longer be the RolleyHoleMan, so if anyone has any questions not answered in my other threads, let me know! Please follow this thread for any updates. Most likely my only updates will be close to September and will be in the form of fliers and advertisements as things progress. If news, videos, or other info is posted elsewhere I will try to add it here. We expect some good coverage and stories to be released before the 40th in order to catch the public eye. If anyone is passing through the area please check the parks website and click the “events” tab for the program schedule. There will be Rolley Hole programs throughout the summer season (May-Oct). If there is not one when you are nearby, one may be requested through the park. Those who want a Rolley Hole marble may get them at the park office or by contacting the park, however we are currently fresh out. We sold several last week, and sold even more a few days later. These marbles are usually $15 each and are all lovingly handmade by a local player.

Teddy, I found and added the missing pieces.

UPDATE! I made a mistake thinking I did not have the rest of that interpretative document. I kept going through copies with no luck until I found my original yellowed and worn copy I laminated for and tucked away for preservation. In my rush to get stuff online I failed to do the critical thing of telling the scanner to PRINT BOTH SIDES. I made a copy of the original once, didn’t do this, and then used the copy of a copy. I’m not near my scanner or at work, but the copy was here in my personal files. I took photos of it and when I get time I will try to scan it all together for one big PDF. Apologies for missing something basic like that. As a side note, I’m covered in Rolley Hole dirt from tonight after a good game. We cracked open a couple of bottles of SKI soda (as mentioned in the KY headhunters song “Dumus Walker”) and we had at it. The yard badly needs drug with a tire and needs more dirt added, but it was a great time.

https://vault.si.com/vault/1994/09/05/rolley-hole-heaven-an-age-old-game-of-marbles-is-still-the-rage-in-kentucky-and-tennessee Found what I was after. This was written for Sports Illustrated by John Grossmann in 1994. I will also add a PDF in case the link fails or ever breaks. Rolley-Hole Heaven - Sports Illustrated Vault _ SI.com.pdf

So this document I will send anyways despite it not having the story I wanted. I will have to see what I was reading that had the story. Regardless this document was written by Bobby Fulcher and is another very good one I have not posted yet. The main thing with Rolley Hole and documents is a lot I have had to dig up, and a lot I find by accident searching national archives and the Smithsonian. Sometimes I find something and then it seems its back lost to the depths again. Bobby Fulcher Marbles.pdf

I do not seem to have those it seems. I don't know how I missed that. Despite that, there is nothing to spanning and the scoreboard section that is missing can be covered by the attachment score sheet as the score sheet is the exact same as the scoreboard. On the sheet, you put an "X" in the box when that hole is made, while on the board we hang an "X". Spanning is easy as well and covered better in the videos I believe, but I will explain it out. Spanning is what you do before your shot. You place your thumb on the marble (where it lies) and make the "surfer hand sign" also known as a Shaka sign or the "hang loose" sign. You stretch your hand and draw a line in the dirt in front or around your marble in a circle (I like to so a circle). You can then place your marble anywhere within span, or shoot anywhere in your span. If you are within span of the hole, you may place the marble in that hole. From there, since you made the hole, you have earned an extra shot and can then span out of the hole to stay for defense, or span to shoot where you would like to go. That all depends on how the game goes and what is happening. Some may decide to "lay" in the hole which is a form of defense. Laying in the hole is tricky because your opponent may shoot you out of the hole and then gain a second turn because they hit your marble. I have personally been hit, then the person was within span and was able to span into the hole and earn another turn. They then used this turn to hit my marble again on the way to their next hole, which is called "riding" or "riding the marble". Bud Garret called the marbles horses because "everyone was always riding them". Section 7 on "Going out" is one that I would like to see. Going out is making the last hole (both you and your partner), thus winning the game. This is a very tricky spot because of the order of gameplay. You could make that hole, and then the next person to go (who is your opponent) can wack your teammates marble away and play defense. Its a hard moment of strategy and making sure your opponent has no/little chance of making it back to you. The defense and offense can be intense with a player defending the hole while their partner catches up, or the team which is behind can take turns with one player making holes, and the other player catching up. Then they may switch to allow the other team mate to catch up. The battle around that last hole can be intense. The final game played at the last tournament was intense around the last hole, with players continually knocking each other out of bounds. I will post another document which is an article written by Bobby Fulcher (father of the tournament) that has an account of a game like described in section VII. One team was behind a good ways, but they fought their way back. The age difference between teams is also an interesting point.

As an update I am back at the park and the marbles are rolling. Today I did a couple marbles programs and we had a pretty good time. As things progress I may be posting more. There’s not a lot more info I can share regarding the game, but will try to update on Rolley Hole news as we inch closer to the 40th Rolley Hole in September. The 40th will be held at Standing Stone State park in Livingston TN as is tradition.

Hey all, this video popped up in my recommended and oddly enough I had not seen a single local reference to it. Usually when a new video is posted, the Rolley Hole Facebook page and the Standing Stone Page will share it. This video is made by a local news network and what it lacks in the fancy shooting of the CBS video it makes up for in information. This video I really like. In the CBS video they only give Bobby Fulcher a tiny little snippet, while this video lets the father of the tournament actually speak of the game. Enjoy! Hopefully some of y’all can make it to this event. I have been rehired to this park and will be teaching marbles and working this event again (unless something crazy happens knock on wood). Come on by!

The other day I realized the score card is incorrect. It should be: Team A player 1 Team B player 1 Team A player 2 Team B player 2 My bad. Though I doubt anyone took off playing Rolley Hole in my absence haha. Watching gameplay should confirm this pattern.

Hey all, here’s a link to an excellent small article on making Rolley Hole marbles. I have shared a few resources here and there but this one does a pretty good job explaining the process, though the best way to learn is to come on out to the 40th Rolley Hole this September! https://www.craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/rocks-roll?fbclid=IwAR3HDf9-qBWemiGLIv8GhpR9F4OAnMbpWzM-O_L6yhliSvqX5zcdnlpQdzY&mibextid=Zxz2cZ I like this link because it does a good job explaining some of the tools and processes, along with a good failed attempt involving a brick, a pickup truck, and a head injury. Making a marble is a labor of love and requires a lot of work. I won’t go into it but will let the article speak for itself. Past this point I will probably not be posting much until it gets closer to Rolley Hole time (unless some more resources pop up or old documents are found). Resources on this game are hard to come by but luckily over the past few years there’s been quite a few small articles here and there. for those who don’t know, the Rolley Hole tournament is at Standing Stone State Park in Hilham, Tennessee in September. There’s some resources online, in YouTube, and in my posts. Come June please check the Standing Stone site for marbles related programs and smaller events leading up to Rolley Hole.

I just watched it an meh, there’s some odds and ends I didn’t care for. The starting out about ancient Egypt wasn’t really in line with Rolley Hole. It’s correct when it comes to marbles but I saw it as confusing. There was also a few details regarding Bobby Fulcher’s employment at Standing Stone, while also not covering all the amazing things that man has to say. He’s a walking resource of amazing amounts of info. Also marble making wasn’t the best in the segment. It made it sound like you just tossed marbles in the river. That’s not right at all. There were special portable rigs for this even.

I picked it up in two days, but still have to ask questions. I’ve had park guests come to programs and get it for the most part in an hour. It’s not that bad.

Making a quick post as I wake up. This morning I got notified that CBS Sunday Morning News will be airing a story on Rolley Hole Marbles on Sunday tomorrow. This year they came and filmed for 3 or 4 days and they sure put in a lot of work. That being said, we are a little worried how it will be portrayed and all that. We did expect this to air sometime a little before the Rolley Hole Championship to drum up local interest and attendance, so this sudden notification has surprised us. Anyways if anyone can catch it, please post what you think. I will likely be working and unable to catch it until later (if I can find a way to watch it).

If you flip through the book and see an image of the Queen of England, it may be a book we don’t speak of due to it having many issues. Unfortunately that’s all I know of the book we had hidden away somewhere at the park. I can’t cite the issues but my boss said it wasn’t bad, but someone could make much better. In the end we are always thankful someone even tried at all. That’s all said with uncertainty because I’ve not gotten hands on the book. Like a lot of info I posted, it was spoken of but no one could get it in my hands. It took months of sorting through filing cabinets, forgotten tapes, and photos to get anything since, like the book, it was “lost”. seeing your post does remind me that I have a ton of photos to post, though I’m not sure how to go about posting 100+ marbles photos.

This is also why I recommend to those who can attend a game, to do so. The last game played at this years tournament (the one that got cut off the stream), was the best played on that yard in the 39 years they’ve been doing it. That is from the man who started the tournament at Standing Stone.

I believe it’s 3/4”. The Rolley Hole marble isn’t really checked or regulated. It’s an honor system here. Play with something large you may be shamed, however you’re a bigger target. Play with something smaller you will be a harder target, but you won’t have the force. Looking at marbles you can often see some small differences but nothing too much. I did have an issue with kids Rolley Hole because a local decided to try different materials. He was given unknown stones and made one that was a heavy metallic marble with considerable mass. My boss would not let me call out the player as she was a kid, but she was able to shoot opponents far away and the mass of her marble ensured little effect against the hit of opponents. That’s the only dishonesty I’ve seen in Rolley Hole. Since I am new and not local there is also an extra taboo there. This is a regional game and the people here are serious about it, and it’s a game of honor. Players are silent besides teammates whispering directions and both sides saying “good shot”. Anyways to answer your questions, It may be a possibility German marbles were used but I would say it is unlikely. Most players either made their marbles or knew someone locally who made them. It’s kinda like moms cooking. Nothing beats it, and it’s right there. This game was also played by the enslaved people of this area and the freed people (during the time of slavery) who had their own community in Free Hill, Tennessee. Their owner would grant freedom and give them a place to live. These people would probably not be getting German marbles. They had areas for making marbles and portable stones with a hole drilled in them they could move under waterfalls along with bow drills. Bud Garret was a decedent of these people and later created a machine known for the best marbles. Hopefully this helps some. As a fun side note, the current normal price for a Rolley Hole Marble is low end $15.00, and we sell some in the Standing Stone gift shop for that price. There are some fancier ones though which I will show. Sometimes makers polish them real shiny but these are difficult to hold onto. Here is a photo of mine. I always carry them as I am education based. So when people tell me they’re going to Standing Stone, I’ve got a speech and demonstration ready to go. 3 of mine are flint, one is Agate, and one is Dalmatian Jasper. The Dalmatian Jasper is the one people love to see, however due to its softness it would not be recommended for gameplay. Since I don’t have the years of experience I can’t shoot with the insane force and accuracy everyone else can, so for teaching the game it does well. When teaching I will have it, a white flint, a yellow flint, and the agate. That way everyone can remember which marble is theirs. As another side note, many parks do ship merchandise so those interested may be able to get one that way. However the best way to get one is to... Come to the National Rolley Hole tournament! There you can see your marble made before your very eyes and even have a part in its creation. Nothing beats that.

I will go ahead and add some more here. The jar I’m pretty sure are 1990s marbles and they are the smallest size I have seen. The others are of interest but so far this batch seems to be nothing special. No wonder the marbles guides weren’t helping as I don’t have any of the rare or old ones haha. My marbles room at the park has over 100k marbles stored in 25 gallon buckets, and that’s the low end of the estimate. So this lot caught my eye because none are like the many many varieties I have access to.

Thanks! Here’s some more photos, though my camera struggles to really capture these.

The next group is a little odd as most of the marbles aren’t perfectly round, and many are lemon shaped or have a single “nipple” protruding from them. This I haven’t seen.

Hey all, I have a ton of marbles I’m looking for a rough idea on. I’ve been able to divide them into groups with many to come. long story short, I teach people to play marbles. Usually with Rolley Hole and Georgia Rolley Hole I use marbles made from flint or agate, while with ringer and schoolyard I use glass. Because of this I often end up with marbles from the locals, and this coffee can has me a bit lost. I’ve gone through marbles guides and something hasn’t clicked, so I’ve got a lot to share. Anyways I’ll be posting a few groups here.

Here are 7 videos of Rolley Hole coverage from the 1980's. Some videos will tell you more about the game than others, so be on the lookout for the video containing graphics and gameplay. Time ranges from a couple mins to over 20 mins for videos.

Went in on my off day to get this together. Here is the playlist of Rolley Hole videos from the 1980's. If there is an issue with them please let me know and I will try to resolve it. I will also be posting this elsewhere on the forum for those who haven't been in this thread or this section of the forum.