I grew up in Springstein, Manitoba which is smack dab in the middle of the so-called Red River valley. The landscape is as flat as a pancake. We could see yard lights 10 miles away after electricity came to town. So where could we kids go tobogganing?
Water was scarce in these parts so farmers dug “ponds” to collect rain water for cattle and household use. Many had two ponds: an old one that already was weedy and polluted from cattle taking a bath and a new one kept clean for drinking and washing. We were not allowed to play on the hills of new ponds but the old ponds were fair game. The dirt from the pond had been piled up nearby and served beautifully for winter downhill fun. The neighbours had such a hill and we tested it regularly. This is where holding hands with your girl-friend was allowed. I remember trying this daring gesture with my now wife of 70 years.
But Winnipeg was only 25 miles away and we had heard of a man-made toboggan slide available for entertainment. We did go once as I remember but the price was quite high per slide. And you had to lug their blessed sled up yourself.
When we moved to Guelph we chose to build a house on a short street called Lockyer Road. It ended with a gate and fence into a landscaped area with a big hill. We called it Moe Hill. Here sledding and tobogganing was popular in winter. The entry was free and you were completely on your own. Our grandson, Curtis knew that hill very well. But lugging the toboggan up the hill was hard work. So out came the slippery plastic roll-your-own and the speeds he generated were awesome.
I had collected two large 4-passenger toboggans over the years which I thought would some day be valuable. One was imprinted with the Canadian Tire logo. I sold one for peanuts on the dollar at a flea market but I still have the other. I guess it will become a wall-hanger as Mike says in the TV show American Pickers.
The Toboggan Slide in River Park, Winnipeg
