Winter is upon us and many are dusting off their skis, sleds and ice skates and dreaming of snowy days with good sledding hills. Our ancestors, in their day, probably had the same thoughts. The THS is indeed fortunate to have some historic ice skates and a lovely old sled.

The old wooden ice skates were donated in1938 with the message that these were “very old skates.” The skates have a wooden base with a curved metal piece curling up over the toes. There are places where leather straps were used to attach the skate to the shoe or boot. I’m thinking they are mid19th century based on what I’ve been able to see online.

There is also a pair of vintage metal ice skates that are quite rusty but can be adjusted with a screw to fit the foot size. Two pairs of buttoned spats accompany the skates. These skates look like they brought a lot of fun to the wearer. There is also a heavy rope that accompanies this gift. What was this rope used for? Was it a rescue rope should there be an unexpected thaw with someone falling through the ice? Perhaps that was a safety measure. The rope could also have been used for games. It was common for groups of kids to meet up and play games as they skated. Games such as Crack the Whip where kids held hands, or held onto the wooden knob on the rope, and skated in a line with the line then swaying out with the kids at the end of the line gaining speed until they let go and were propelled quickly across the pond. Perhaps they played tug of war or pulled each other in a train. Whatever they did I’m sure they had great fun.

The Sled is an antique child-sized push sleigh with comfy red cushions and a handle for pushing the child across the snow. These sleighs were popular around 1900 and were often manufactured in South Paris, Maine.

Just looking at these old skates and the sled brings back memories of ones youth. Townsend’s own Bob Tumber recalled his early days in West Townsend in a December 21, 2001 article that appeared in the Townsend-Pepperell Messenger. Bob recalls his Christmas memories and his excitement at joining up with friends in his close knit West Townsend neighborhood for some sledding fun. It was during the Depression but Bob was so excited to find under his Christmas tree his desired gift, a sled, a Flexible Flyer!! Bob recalls that he took the sled up West Elm Street in West Townsend and with his friends “slid down the first rise in the road.” “In those days plows didn’t take everything off the road like they do now. Cars all had chains on their tires and packed the snow down.” Can you imagine sledding down West Elm Street today ? Bob got in a bit of trouble for that escapade. A neighbor saw him and his mother was called. Home he went. His punishment – no taking the sled out for a week!
Bob recalls that everyone had skates and ice skating was a popular activity. He recalls “The dams were all kept up so there were areas of still water and it got colder earlier so the water would freeze deep.” Bob remembers that later in the winter you could skate all the way to the poor farm and even much of the whole river. A bonfire would be built when ice skating and people would bring along old scraps of wood and “a bit of oil used in small home heating stoves would be poured over the wood.” Bob enjoyed remembering this time past where neighborhood children played together and shared what they had received for Christmas.

Bob Tumber passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. He is now resting right around the corner from that infamous sledding road on West Elm St. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in West Townsend.