Professional skater Molly McNerney MacGowan was only 4 years old when her older brother took her skating in San Francisco. His reaction was, “This kid can go out and just skate.”
After moving to Chicago in 1949, Molly did not have access to a rink until one was built near her home when she was 14 years old. Her mother enrolled her in lessons and by age 15 Molly was offered a spot in a national Ice Capades show. Upon graduation from high school in San Francisco in 1958, Molly received a three-year contract to skate with the Ice Follies. She skated professionally with Holiday on Ice International from 1961-1965.
Molly married Jack MacGowan and took a 35-year leave from skating while raising a family. They moved to Etna, Calif., and Molly started a new career working as a corrections officer for 18 years in the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department.
When Medford, Ore., built a rink, Molly began the 90-mile trek to Medford to renew her love of skating and competing. In 2003, at the age of 63, she won the U.S. Figure Skating Adult Nationals in Michigan and has won several more medals since then.
Sources: "Ice Dancer Molly MacGowan." Amazing Grace. Grace Lutheran School, Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. www.graceriverforest.org/files/amazing_grace_Fall_2012.pdf; Pollock, Buffy. "63-year-old Molly MacGowan returns to the ice after 35 year hiatus." mailtribune.com. Mail Tribune, 6 May 2003. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20030506/news/305069984; "Harlick Skating Boots: Photo Galleries: Historical Ice Skating Photo G." harlick.com. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
