April 1, 1913: Birth of skating star Lois Dworshack

On this day in Duluth in 1913, Lois Dworshak was born to Louis and Elizabeth Dworshak at 2129 West Second Street at the time. According to biographer David Ouse, Lois began skating at the age of eight with instruction from Frank Sullivan at the Duluth Curling Club, where her parents were both active members. She also played the piano and was an accomplished painter. She graduated Central High School in 1931 then attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in music. In 1935 she began touring with Shipstad and Johnson’s new ice show, the International Ice Follies. Billed as the “Rhythm Girl,” Dworshak was the show’s headliner. Her appearance in “Ice Follies of 1938” at Duluth’s Amphitheater was marred when a foot infection forced her to sit out several performances, but those show still include a number of home-grown skaters, including Duluth’s Ann Haroldson and Ruby and Bobby Maxson and Superior’s Bess Erhart. Lois also toured the nation as one of the stars of the first Ice Capades in 1940 and appeared in two “Ice Capades” movies, Ice-Capades (1941) and Ice-Capades Revue (1942). Learn more about Dworshack here.

Lois Dworshak. (Image: Public Domain)