Rolley Hole Marbles 40th anniversary official thread

[RolleyHoleMan]

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. 

[RolleyHoleMan]

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. 

[RolleyHoleMan]

Another small update regarding Rolley Hole, or a couple. 

 

Firstly an interesting thing I learned today is that our yard is actually slightly smaller than what you will usually see in a Rolley Hole yard. I do not know the exact dimensions, but typically a yard has the holes 10ft apart, while ours are 9ft apart. It was an interesting thing to learn though I have only been to one other yard, which is the "marbles super dome" in Monroe county, Kentucky. 

My next update is we are supposed to get more dirt for the yard next week, so we will see what can be done. The yard is in pretty rough shape though it is better than it was last year around this time. The yard mostly is unused by the locals who play at their own yards or yards closer to the bigger Rolley Hole communities. Marble yards are a social hotspot for the locals so our yard is a little out of the way. I have been keeping the yard up best I can since I play on it. Lately we have also had an increase of kids digging on the yard and throwing dirt at each other, so it is what it is. 

 

I've also been getting more lessons from both champion players and local kids on shooting marbles, but it's one of those things that they do well but it's hard to teach people who didn't grow up doing it. I'm no good. I can't hit well and when I do hit, the power is lacking. Not too big of a deal since I'm not a true Rolley Hole player, but an outsider to the area who now teaches the game in a more historical and folklore way. I'm a teacher, not a player. However after many have inspected the marbles I've made, I am gaining some mild reputation as a marble maker. 

Coming up on the agenda I will be spending time searching Standing Stone State Park for material for making marbles in the hopes of making a 100% Standing Stone made Rolley Hole marble. The flint found in the park (I've been told) is supposed to make a pretty marble, but not the best marble. 

 

I'll keep on updating. Lately the days have been blazing hot, but the nights have been some good Rolley Hole nights. More visitors are coming to the park and asking for some Rolley Hole, and when the storms come in the marble yard is always open. There's nothing to do on those night but settle down with a bottle of SKI and shoot some marbles, or at least talk marbles. 

 

Hopefully some of you will come on by Rolley Hole this year. After this year I will be moving to another park since my position is seasonal with the condition you can only work the same park twice, and I worked last year. My Rolley Hole posts will stop at that point. Tennessee has 57 State Parks with plenty to offer, but only 1 that has Rolley Hole. None in my opinion have anything this special or ever will, so come on by!

[RolleyHoleMan]

Work has begun on the marbles yard. So far the yard looks rough, but it is step 1 in a bigger process. The yard has been heavily wetted which causes all that fine powder to become one with the yard. When this is done, you can really see the imperfections in the yard like holes, ditches, etc. Coming up more material will be added.

I will try to start adding photos of the process but the local players are the ones fixing it up, so when they will be here is not scheduled so steps in the process may be missed. 

Today I was out in the streams finding more flint for marbles, though nothing is all that great so far. 

[RolleyHoleMan]

As a small update just in case anyone is around the park and decides to stop. At the moment the Rolley Hole yard will be closed for repairs and will be fenced off. 

For gameplay, the Marble Super Dome of Monroe County Ky is where anyone interested should go for gameplay. They are located behind the National Guard Armory. 

[Jeff54]

I expect you'll find this interesting if you haven't seen it.  It seems to have a contest like Rolly holley and World competition. Chose to translate the whole text from German to English; 

https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/murmeln-mehr-als-ein-kinderspiel-100.html#:~:text=Mumble,than child's play

[RolleyHoleMan]

On 7/29/2023 at 2:41 AM, Jeff54 said:

I expect you'll find this interesting if you haven't seen it.  It seems to have a contest like Rolly holley and World competition. Chose to translate the whole text from German to English; 

https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/murmeln-mehr-als-ein-kinderspiel-100.html#:~:text=Mumble,than child's play

Good read. The marble tournament in Tinsley Green is actually where our players went, and dominated, in 1992. 

[RolleyHoleMan]

Today I spent many hours working on organizing hundreds of marbles to be sold at Rolley Hole, so here are some updates. 

Standing Stone State Park's gift shop has finally restocked Rolley Hole flint/quartz/agate marbles with around 20 to choose from for $15.00 each. They may be purchased at the park office, though I do not think we ever figured out any way to ship marbles because of needing a state account to purchase shipping labels. 

I myself have kept on making marbles and have gotten better at the process and I learned that my getting the marbles too hot was causing them to crack. After learning more from Matthew (marble gems on youtube), I have stopped cracking them and have made a few more. So far I have made 17 marbles!

During the Pioneer Folk Festival at Fall Creek Falls State Park I will be there running the marbles pit on the 9th and 10th of September. The game will be schoolyard and variants of it so it may not be all that exciting if anyone on here can attend. I believe most members are a good distance off. 

 

On September 30th there will be a Rolley Hole Marble making demonstration at Cove Lake State Park that I will be at. This is put on by the Tennessee Arts Commission featuring artisans trained/taught through their programs and grants. I was not trained this way but will be there to do the interpretative side of this demonstration, so as the marble makers work, I will be there to explain what is happening. There may be a chance I will be making marbles, but this is not very likely.  Regardless this may give members here another chance to experience Rolley Hole in this way. 

 

Fliers have been designed for the 40th but have not been printed. When they are, I will scan one in front and back and then post it here. These fliers have the itinerary such as food, music, vendors, and most importantly, ROLLEY HOLE.  This is the prime time to get marbles, and to truly experience Rolley Hole. There will be people hanging around to interoperate the games to those who are confused (don't worry, most people are), along with marble makers set up to teach the process. 

 

As for accommodations, anyone interested in staying with us will have to contact the park or check the website for reservations of campgrounds and cabins. Cabins are likely booked, but last year I remember many open campsites with many campers who showed up not knowing Rolley Hole was happening. 

 

Another thing is we are supposed to have a shuttle van to shuttle people between different parking areas. This has not been done in many years so that part is still a little up in the air. 

 

If anyone has any questions, please let me know!

[RolleyHoleMan]

Here is the official flier and itinerary for Rolley Hole! 

[RolleyHoleMan]

The tournament went very well and was a blast! I don't know if anyone from here attended, but if not, there's always next year! 

My time at this park is coming to an end, but I will still be around and have email notifications set up for questions about Rolley Hole. 

I also plan to get my own gear to hopefully make some more marbles, though I don't know what the extent of this will be. Only time will tell but I will be hitting some local junk shops for old tools and such that can be used for this. I will be cutting down cubes into spheres using a bench grinder, and will be spinning the marbles (probably) by using an old Yamaha moped. So in November keep an eye out for marble mayhem and possible injuries. 

[Steph]

35 minutes ago, RolleyHoleMan said:

The tournament went very well and was a blast! I don't know if anyone from here attended, but if not, there's always next year! 

My time at this park is coming to an end, but I will still be around and have email notifications set up for questions about Rolley Hole. 

I also plan to get my own gear to hopefully make some more marbles, though I don't know what the extent of this will be. Only time will tell but I will be hitting some local junk shops for old tools and such that can be used for this. I will be cutting down cubes into spheres using a bench grinder, and will be spinning the marbles (probably) by using an old Yamaha moped. So in November keep an eye out for marble mayhem and possible injuries. 

 

Your enthusiasm has been such a delight.  You've made me want to go to Standing Stone ... or drop in at whatever park you're working at if I ever find myself in Tennessee. 

[Big Billy red beard]

Hey RolleyHoleMan, I loved this series of posts.  I actually ordered a set of marbles from a maker in Monroe county Kentucky about a year ago.  I have built a marble yard at my house, although about half the size of what you describe. It has been a blast playing, but I don’t have the dirt quite right.  In one of your posts, you mentioned you were getting more dirt for your yard.  What type of dirt do you use to fill it?   

[RolleyHoleMan]

2 hours ago, Big Billy red beard said:

Hey RolleyHoleMan, I loved this series of posts.  I actually ordered a set of marbles from a maker in Monroe county Kentucky about a year ago.  I have built a marble yard at my house, although about half the size of what you describe. It has been a blast playing, but I don’t have the dirt quite right.  In one of your posts, you mentioned you were getting more dirt for your yard.  What type of dirt do you use to fill it?   

The dirt we never did end up getting, but we certainly need to. There was too much worry this year about potentially putting dirt on the yard that the players would be upset about, as they're picky. No matter how nice the yard is, people will complain. I had a man sitting with me who kept going on and on, and asked who was taking care of the yard. I told him that for the first few months it was me, and he got very quiet, then I told him several players came by for a month to work on the yard. 

From what I have been told, this is sifted loam soil from the banks of rivers/streams, and sometimes roadsides. I have never gotten to go dirt hunting, but have heard stories about this process. Some people would keep pantyhose in their trucks and would bag up dirt they saw and liked. Some players were working for TDOT so on their travels along roadsides they would pick up dirt and even nodules. 

 

What is just as important and often overlooked is yard maintenance and proper building. I've talked with a few people about this and of course opinions vary, but at Fall Creek Falls State Park they thought it was ideal to roll a layer of red clay on the yard, which wasn't right. 

 

The main thing to try is the finest sifted light brown loam you can get. Walk around your yard tossing it like a flower girl at a wedding, then wet the yard slightly to make it all form together. Keep on doing this and then allow the yard to dry. Take an old wagon wheel rim or vehicle rim, weigh it down, and drag it like a mule. This will even it out and the scrape will bring a fine layer of dirt up. The ideal yard has this fine layer, and if you rub your hand on it you will bring up more powder. The yards are often compared to the felt of a pool table. 

 

In the end it is your yard and you make the rules, so you can adapt and make the game your own. Similar dirt marble games were once played in New York and New Jersey cities before paving of alleyways and driveways. Little is known about this and what they wanted in a yard. The best thing for any dirt patch for marbles is to just play on it. They need a lot of time to settle down and mesh together. 

 

Hopefully this helps. If you have any more questions please ask. 

[Big Billy red beard]

That does help.   Thanks for taking the time to respond.  We will stick with what we have for now, and then do that trick with the dusting and watering that you recommended.  
 

As an aside, when I first built the yard, I pulled all the grass out with rake and hoe.  Then, to keep it from growing back, I soaked the yard with vinegar.  For the first few weeks, it smelled like Italian salad dressing every time we played.   
 

I think we may try to make to the rolley hole tournament next year.  That would be fun. 

[Big Billy red beard]

[RolleyHoleMan]

5 hours ago, Big Billy red beard said:

That looks very nice! The size and shape of your yard is very similar to our Georgia Rolley Hole yard, which at one time was a regular Rolley Hole yard that was cut in half I believe. If I recall correctly, everyone wanted to play at the main yard so over time the yard we use for Georgia Rolley Hole was cut in half. Georgia is basically like scaled down Cherokee Marbles and keeps many of the same rules. In one of my threads I think I have the rules posted for it. 

Anyways what you have looks just fine. What our players do when practicing is they take a bucket of rolley hole dirt over to the Georgia yard and they dip their hands in it for shooting. You may be able to do similar if you find a material you like. Unfortunately I have not really ventured into yard making and dirt hunting so I won't be able to help there. I have found similar dirt in old unused barns when out hunting for junk, so that may be something to look into. Really I'd imaging if you dig down past topsoil you may be able to find something that'll do.