Childhood Memories Not Forgotten

The snow was falling and I could see Tommy & Eddie coming across the street. The day after Christmas was always Sledding Day on the hill. Everyone came to spend the day on the hill . . . toboggans, sleds, saucers, whatever they had used last year or had gotten new yesterday for Christmas.

There were 27 kids from 7 different families up and down the street all converging at once. Peter was running his snowmobile up and down the hill creating a path in the freshly fallen snow. The rules for Sledding Day never changed, but it’s like everyone got amnesia during the summer and by winter, the rules were all but forgotten.

1. You took turns going down the hill. One at a time so as not to cause accidents.

2. You walked up the outside of the path so as not to get smashed into by someone on their way down.

3. The big kids always watched out for the little ones. That was a big rule, because if only one little one got hurt, that would be the end of Sledding Day.

4. Everyone brought their lunch for a 12:30 feast. Mom brought out juice for everyone since the hill was in our backyard. The other moms sent desserts and snacks for everyone.

5. No one went back to the hill until everyone was ready to go. (there was always one too slow for the rest and the chant would start “Hurry Up Betsy, Hurry Up Betsy”)

6. You never ever, ever went sledding on the hill alone. Like swimming in the summer, it was not a solo sport.

7. Never more than 2 on a sled at one time (although our new toboggan held 6 kids). Someone always broke this rule trying to see how many kids they could fit on one sled. (They usually crashed on the way down)

8. There was never any name calling or bullying. The consequences were serious. You could be kicked off the hill for the day or if the infraction was bad enough, you could lose the whole sledding year.

9. When you hit the bottom of the hill, your job would be to stand there and wait for the next sledder. Because it could be a very fast hill, sometimes you couldn’t stop at the bottom, and went right across the street into Daltons yard. That person became the traffic director signaling any oncoming cars to slow down. It only happened once or twice but we were still taught to be very careful.

10. This was a big one …. Since the field we were in was a cow farm during the summer, anyone who came across a frozen lump, would mark it and let the others know so no one got hurt by smashing into it at full speed.

All in all, very good rules, but there was always a troublemaker, usually my brother, David. He liked to cause chaos and then he would lay in the snow and laugh til he cried or peed his pants, whichever came first. David would go out of turn or jump in line in front of someone else creating a battle over who was next. He usually lost as everyone knew this was his way and he always lost his sledding rights for January. He would end up sitting on the bench at the bottom of the hill watching everyone else having fun. You think he would have learned his lesson? Nope.

At the end of the day, just before dark, we all went into the woods and gathered firewood. Dad was making his way up the hill with some kindling and his knowledge of bonfires. Half an hour later, there was a giant fire burning at the top of the hill. That was our guide to the rest of the hill so we could continue sledding into the night. At that time, Tommy’s mom would walk across the street to the bottom of the hill and everyone got a nice hot cup of cocoa, with marshmallows, of course.

Also, at about that time, the little ones were whisked off by their moms for baths and bedtime while the older kids continued their Sledding Day. The big kids were allowed to stay out until 10:00 pm or until the bonfire went out, whichever came first. Looking back, I now realize our bonfire was really not much bigger than a campfire, but in our minds, it could be seen by the kids on the next street over.

Since I became an adult, I have noticed, you don’t see a lot of things like this. Kids are stuck to their video games and cell phones. They don’t go out and have a sledding day. Part of that, I guess, belongs to the fact that there aren’t many good hills left for sledding, everything is so overbuilt. Our hill was replaced by a development of about seven large $800,000 houses. I wonder if they knew they were sitting on top of mounds of cow plop? That thought makes me chuckle.

I believe children are missing out on the best times of their lives that could be spent outdoors enjoying the snow, their friends, playing traffic cop, bonfires, and cocoa.