BURLINGTON WINTER CARNIVAL. Beginning in 1884, the Burlington Coasting Club began to hold a Winter Carnival modeled after carnivals held in Montreal. Thousands attended. |
The steerable Flexible Flyer was introduced in 1889. Ads said that their use meant that runs lasted longer, went fasters and damaged boys' shoes less. |
This group of free-range youngers get ready for the down hill adventure that was sledding (Library of Congress) |
“This winter is one of the old-fashioned kind, with plenty
of cold and snow. The snow has furnished an infinite amount of amusements. Not for a long time has there been such a
carnival of fun. This is the season of enjoyment, therefore we say welcome to
the snow which is the only thing that can make old winter endurable” Burlington Weekly Free Press, Jan. 24, 1879
As I write this column, snow is falling heavily in Bradford.
It seems an appropriate time to delve into the history of winter fun in New
Hampshire and Vermont, especially in the 19th and early 20th
centuries. Because they are model designer states for winter
activities, this article will review the history of some of the many activities
that have engaged residents in winter-time fun.
As there is so much information on the history of hockey and
skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont, the history of those activities will have
to wait until a future column.
The traverse sled is
one of several winter toys that began as a working device. For centuries, they
were used to haul supplies, lumber and stone, drawn by human or animal power.
In the 1870s, Vermont newspapers began to describe them being used for downhill
adventures.
Known as “double-rippers or double runners,” the traverse was two sleds connected by a plank.
The front sled could be manipulated to steer. The number of riders depended on
the length of the plank, with reports of sleds that accommodated up to 20 riders.
A horse, truck or tractor was often used to pull the sled up
a steep and long hill or road. Roy Belyea of Piermont recalls growing up in
Warren and riding an 8-person traverse down both Moosilauke Inn Road and Rt.
118.
Hauled by a truck up the road, the sled ride would be as
much as five miles. The truck would go ahead to warn the occasional oncoming
traffic and the ride would often end up in a snowbank. Goshen Road in Bradford
and Piermont Heights were two of the many appealing traverse runs in the area.
Those trips were exciting and dangerous. Reports from across
the two states described broken bones, gorged torsos and even fatalities. Many
of the reports mirrored a 1885 comment in a St. Johnsbury newspaper: “Thin ice
and a traverse sleds are the boys’ greatest danger now.”
The toboggan was another tool that was modified for winter
excitement. It was first mentioned in
Vermont newspapers in 1870. In 1884, The Vermont Watchman encouraged towns and
villages to “banish the murderous double-runner…and introduce the Indian
toboggan, a vehicle swift as an arrow’s flight, but yielding a harmless sport,
indescribably fascinating and exhilarating.”
In 1887, the Star and Burlington brand toboggans “were in
high use in St. Johnsbury.” Toboggan clubs were formed in Burlington,
Montpelier and St. Johnsbury and toboggan suits were manufactured in Saxton’s
River, Vermont.
Bobsledding was described as the “winter sport that has an
element of danger.” The term bobsled was first used for the farm sled used to
haul lumber or hay. In the later 19th century it was also used in reference to the regular
traverse. In the 1880s, riders in both Switzerland and upstate New York, added
a steering wheel to the traverse. By 1909, bobsled races were being held over
an iced course.
Decades before these toboggans, youngsters had been sliding
or coasting down local hills and roads. Bradford’s National Opinion of Feb. 13,
1874 reported on “the downhill tendency of American youth.” It went to report
that a single company in Montpelier sold 11,000 sleds for children last winter.
Early sleds were advertised as high sleds or mollycoddles
for girls and low sleds for boys. All that was improved when, in 1889, Samuel
Leeds Allen patented the first steerable runner sled. Sold as the Flexible
Flyer, a 1904 ad declared that it would “last longer, go faster and save boys’
shoes.”
Dragging sleds behind, youngsters sometimes tackled a hill
of new fallen snow. A heavy woolen snowsuit or jeans and buckled overshoes, hat
and mittens were their costumes. They were as free range as the family dogs
that tagged along. If the boots leaked, one could always pull a bread bag over
them. Steering could be done by hand, belly-down or sitting up and using
feet. It was said that girls used the
latter whereas boys were more likely to start with a running “belly bumper.”
The first couple of attempts were short-lived until a path
was packed down. Walking back up hill in the path was frowned upon. If a hill
was icy, cardboard or an inner tube could replace the sled. I recall that the
hill outside the Orfordville school was just right for these substitutes.
The jack jumper or snow bob added an exciting toy. Patented
in 1904 by Peter Perrault of
Brattleboro, the jumper was sold in stores. One could also be made at home with
a barrel stave or sawed-off ski as the runner.
An upright piece held the attached seat. Using one’s flailing feet and arms
for balance , the jumper sends the courageous rider sailing down a snow-covered
hill.
Diners at a recent East Orange Senior Center luncheon
confirmed these coasting details. Long before the flying saucer was marketed,
one person recalled a group ride using an auto hood.
Bradford’s Forrest Thurston remembered starting at the top
of South Road and sliding more than a mile past the district school he attended.
During recess or lunch, students at that school used the road for sliding.
This 87-year old diner said that there was little traffic
and the roads were rarely sanded after snow. But there was traffic and other
dangers on roads used by throngs of children and some “frisky older people.”
Beginning in the 1860s, newspaper reports regularly reported
accidents between coasters and pedestrians, horses, utility poles, barbed wire,
railroad cars, and vehicles.
While some communities set aside designated streets for
sliding, others began to restrict it. In Dec. 1869, believing “the practice of
coasting upon the Highways of Bradford Village is alike dangerous to live and
property,” Bradford selectmen moved to forbid it.
In 1877, a new Vermont law allowed town selectmen to
prohibit sliding on all town roadways. The United Opinion supported the
measure, writing “Sliding in the street
is dangerous to both the boys who slide and the people who walk or ride.” In 1883, New Hampshire passed a similar law,
but also allowed communities to appropriate funds for “controlled suitable
sliding, coasting and skating.”
Beginning that same
year, many northern New Englanders travelled to Montreal and Quebec City
for winter carnivals. Railroads offered
special excursion tickets for the events. The spectators from New Hampshire and
Vermont were so taken by the activities
that communities and colleges began to
organize their own winter carnivals.
In 1884, Burlington’s Coasting Club held a five-day
gathering in which coasting and tobogganing were the main events. Its 250 members created a chute 30 ft in
height and 1,400 ft in sliding length. Two years later, the enlarged event
included skating, curling, coasting, ice-boating, trotting races on Lake
Champlain, sleighing, snowshoe races and hockey matches. The hockey matches
involving both local and Canadian teams is described as the first international
hockey tournament.
Winter carnivals were also held in New Hampshire. In Jan.
1893, a winter carnival was held in Concord
and, in 1916, Newport began a winter carnival that is still being held
today. In 1921, the New Hampshire Hotel Association encouraged local winter
festivals to promote tourism.
In 1910, the Dartmouth Outing Club held its first winter
carnival. Over the years, skiing
events and other outdoor sports of all
types along with snow sculptures were added. From the beginning this all-male student body
realized “Winter Carnival will not succeed without girls.” More on this carnival and Dartmouth’s contributions
to skiing in a later column.
Other colleges also held similar events. In 1920, Middlebury
began the tradition of “Winter Holiday.” That college indicates their festival
is “the oldest student-run winter carnival in the nation.” In 1921, the University of Vermont held
winter events that included both college and high school students. The next
year, the University of New Hampshire’s Forest Club held that school’s first
winter carnival.
In 1920, Washington’s Birthday became the focus of a mid-winter
carnival in Stowe. The organizers
“wanted to bring the people in town out of economic and winter doldrums.” It
was very successful and, in the mid-1930s, drew large crowds. Suspended during
WW II, it did not resume until 1974.
Local high schools were attracted to the thrills of a winter
carnival. In the 1930s, Bradford Academy held an annual interscholastic Saturday carnival that
included students from Hanover, Lebanon, Orford and Woodsville. This would
evolve into indoor and outdoor contests between BA students held on the last
day of school prior to winter vacation topped by a dance with student royalty.
At the same time, a number of winter competitions were held
in Orford involving both high school and junior high students. In 1932, Lake Morey was the site of sporting
events for 7th and 8th graders. An area-wide competition was held in 1937 and included students from Haverhill,
Thetford, Bradford, Newbury and Orford.
In the late 1950’s, many of events were held in the field adjacent to
the high school.
Ice skating was introduced in America in the 1740s by
British soldiers. Early skates were attached to the wearer’s shoes or boots.
Between 1848 and 1865 improvements included one-piece skates. Skating became
very popular as it was the only sporting activity that included both men and
women. It was not unusual for a skating party and a bonfire to follow a day of
ice harvesting.
According to Katharine Blaisdell’s history of Haverhill,
beginning in the 1890s, there was skating on the Ammonoosuc River near
Woodsville, on Sleeper’s mill pond in
North Haverhill and the eddy of the Connecticut River at Haverhill Corner.
Over the years, there
have been a number of skating rinks throughout Haverhill, both on established
rinks and ones created by users shoveling a clear surface. As elsewhere, these
rinks were used for hockey and individual skating.
On Christmas morning, 1895, a skating outing was held on
Lake Fairlee and “much fancy skating was indulged in.” The next year, Warden’s
Store in Bradford sold “skates for 30 cents and up.”
Skaters on rivers and ponds were joined by those involved in
ice fishing. Newspaper reports indicated that in the late 1890s, concerns for
overfishing during the winter began to lead to restrictions. In 1894, ice fishing in both Lake Fairlee and Lake
Morey was prohibited.
Concern for the
pickerel population led the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission to recommend
that all ice fishing be stopped in all but the largest lakes. Their concern was
the negative impact on fishing during other seasons.
However, in the new century, catches seem to increase. In January 1911, it was reported that, in one day, two Bradford men caught 30
pickerel in Haverhill. In 1922, ice fishing on Lake Fairlee resulted “in
exceptionally good luck.”
In addition to the above activities, sending a group of
children out on a snowy day led to numerous informal winter activities.
Building a snow fort and having a snowball fight along with molding a snowman
could fill as many hours as the temperatures and appetites allowed.
An untouched field of
new fallen snow was just right for creating a game of fox and geese. That winter game of tag was played on a large circle, divided like a
pie with connecting paths. A snow pile
created just the right setting for a King of the Hill challenge.
In 1922, The Brattleboro Daily Reformer concluded: “Vermont
is beginning to realize on its permanent interest in winter. We have been paying for winter, lo, these may
years, but have never realized on the investment in the share of health and
pleasure. Now we are cashing in some of our dividends.” For over a century and
a half, many New Hampshire and Vermont residents have and continue to enjoy the
dividends of living through old-fashioned winters with old-fashioned fun.