Jim Ridpath

James S. "Jim" Ridpath
Born Nov. 12, 1921, in Haxton, Colo
Died June 14, 2005 at Millennium Health Services in Ellicott City. Aged 83

When I first started to collect marbles I contacted as many people as I could, Jim being one of them. We corresponded on and off for quite a while, he even made me an ‘honorary’ member of his ‘National Marbles Club’.

In 1991 Julia and myself went to the ‘Rolley Hole’ marbles at Standing Stone Park, Tennessee this was the first time I had met Jim and his wife Helen.

In 1993 we visited the ‘Nationals’ in Wildwood NJ, Jim and Helen were there as chaperones too the players from Drexel Hill. He had just had an article about him and his collection published in an in-flight magazine and he gave me a copy.

We visit after the Tournament and we stayed the night before we flew back home with Jim and Helen. Jim drove us to the airport the next day.

I will never forget his collection and the room it was housed in, you had to climb up to it through the wardrobe in the main bedroom.