REMEMBER WHEN
I remember back in the late 1960s — to some of us a long time ago — we didn’t have computers and smart phones or Xboxes. In fact, at this time of the year, winter, snowmobiles weren’t really in vogue like they are today.
We did, however, have what was then called a hand sled. Now, this sled when new was made of wood with steel runners and a handle bar at the front that you could steer it with. They were usually natural wood color with the runners painted red.
Even though snowmobiles weren’t as widely used as they are today, there were enough of them in operation that there were a few trails from point A to point B and so on. One of these trails was on what my friend Ricky and I called “The Hill.”
The Hill, if you have ever been to Mapleton, was the last hill prior to entering the town. The trail on “The Hill” was across the road from the Mapleton Hardware store and it went from the bottom to the top of the hill and was approximately six feet wide. We discovered during our Christmas/New Year’s break from school, that this trail was packed hard as ice.
Every day after school and on Saturday and Sunday, when it wasn’t snowing, would find Ricky and I on our hand sleds going like the wind almost a quarter of a mile down “The Hill” and trudging back up again to do it over.
You see “back in the day” we had to make our own fun.
Guy Woodworth of Presque Isle is a 1973 graduate of Presque Isle High School and a four-year Navy veteran. He and his wife Theresa have two grown sons and five grandchildren. He may be contacted at lightning117_1999@yahoo.com.
