Sledding

We had two primary hills for sledding when I was growing up. There were others that we used on occasion but none as regularly as these two. One was across the street from my house on the north side of Saunders School. The other was the hill in Saunders Park near the big stone fireplace.

The school hill got heavy use and some of the neighborhood kids even groomed it to make it better. Kids sledded on it during the day at recess times. It was busy after school until about 5:30 and then everyone went home for supper. By 6:30 or 7:00 many kids were back and would sled well into the evening. I can remember my mother calling in a high-pitched voice, “Perrrrreeeeeee!” when it was time for me to come home.

These were the days before we knew about wind chill and would often stay a lot longer than we should and come home frostbit and shivering. I remember someone saying to me, “Are you cold? Your cheeks are bright red!” and I shrugged and said, “Not that cold.” and stayed out until my mother called. I did hate when the snow got packed in the space between the top or my gloves and the sleeve of my coat. It would get packed tight in there and my arm would feel like it was broken it would hurt so badly!

The school hill was long and gentle. It was surprising how far down the hill you could go on the packed snow. The type of sled we used most were the ones with runners. I did have a saucer sled but it didn’t work well on a gentle hill. Runner sleds would cut ruts in the snow and so we would often add snow and pack it down. If it would melt a little and then freeze hard then it would be really good. You could go a long way!

I loved it there at night in the twilight, with the air crisp, and the night still. It was as if time stopped and you could soak in the experience. Somehow you are warm all over and there is a calmness that comes over you.

I had that same experience at the hill in Saunders Park. There, they would sometimes build a roaring fire in the big stone fireplace and kids would hover around and share hot chocolate. The social aspect made it a big draw to the kids of the community.

The hill in the park is longer and steeper than the one at the school. It attracted people from all over town. It was kind of a gathering place on winter evenings when there was snow on the ground. The fragrant smell of burning wood wafted from the fireplace and the park is a beautiful setting.

A trip down the hill could take you all the way to the creek, nearly a hundred yards! Climbing back up was always a challenge because the hill was steep and slippery and you had to avoid other kids walking down. We had two simple rules. One was to always walk up the outside and the other was that when you come to a stop you need to get up and get out of the way. It was next to impossible to get kids to follow either.

It seemed as though you could tell a kid a dozen times to walk up the outside and he would still get up and walk right up the middle. Invariably he would get clobbered and blame the sledder. Some kids would slide down the hill and then just sprawl in the snow. They, too, would get hit and more than one lip got bloodied. So among the squeals of joy and excitement you would hear, “Walk up the outside!” or “Get out of the way!”

Occasionally someone would hit a tree or the fireplace and a trip to the hospital on the other side of the park would be necessary. I can think of two or three people who were seriously injured on that hill. I, fortunately, avoided any serious accidents there.

What draws us to want to slide I don’t know? I did learn as a teacher and a principal that it is all most impossible to stop kids from sliding on ice or down a hill with or without a sled. Something about us doesn’t want to be earth bound.