GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — This week’s focus is skateboarding as we take you back in time with reports from Dick Evans’ long-running and popular series “On The Michigan Road.”
In this report from Aug. 21, 1980, Evans highlighted what was then a very niche hobby, speaking to a family in Lansing that had built a halfpipe in the backyard. He gave skateboarding a go himself. It didn’t go well.
Skateboards were invented in California in the 1950s. In 2020, for the first time, they’ll be included as a sport at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Between 1971 and 1991, Dick Evans filed “On The Michigan Road” stories from all over the state. They featured everything from county fairs to people with offbeat hobbies and collections to some of Michigan’s most beautiful locations. He died in October 1991 at the age of 66 after more than 40 years in broadcasting.
News 8 will be airing a throwback “On The Michigan Road” report each Thursday during the 5 p.m. hour.
