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Saturday, January 19, 2002

Untitled Document

Super sliding on the slippery slopes: Second of three parts

By Ed Shannon

Tribune feature writer

Wintertime recreation can result in some interesting fads. Through the years, ice skating, hockey, sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and skiing all have had their eras of popularity during the snowy and frigid months. And one of the most interesting eras for Albert Lea residents was based on the tobogganing and bobsled fad of the 1920s and ’30s.

Local tobogganing was promoted in late 1919 and early 1920 when city leaders decided to present a Winter Sports Carnival in Albert Lea. This event was scheduled for Jan. 28-30, 1920.

One part of the preparations for this event was the organization of toboggan teams to ride down the slopes on the long sleds. Each team was sponsored by a local form or club and had matching uniforms. As an indication of this, the Tribune issue of Jan. 12, 1920, reported, &uot; … the local Elks Lodge held a rousing meeting in the assembly room and organized a carnival club. A dandy tan and blue costume, all ready for delivery, was ordered, and will make the Elks a nobby looking bunch.&uot;

Toboggans could be purchased from several local hardware stores. One of these firms, Jewel Hardware Co., 212 S. Broadway Ave., said in Tribune ads that they could supply skates, skis and toboggans. Sleds and bobsleds could be purchased locally or by mail order from Wards or Sears.

Another part of the preparations for the planned Winter Sports Carnival was the construction of a large toboggan slide. This wooden frame structure was erected in early January 1930 to the rear of the Mark M. Jones property near the corner of Fountain Street and Washington Avenue. The slide was pointed down the slope and right out onto ice-covered Fountain Lake.

(Mark M. Jones died in 1935 and was the grandfather of the property’s present owner, Mark S. Jones.)

A Tribune article in the Jan. 12, 1920, edition said, &uot;A big bunch of toboggans is already on the way here, as well as many private toboggans that have been ordered by the various business concerns for the use of their employees and themselves.

&uot;When the folks get through with a long toboggan slide, they can go on over to the rink, which is being put in shape, and there they can skate until they are weary. Then for a rest there is the long slide slide again. Both places will be electric lighted.&uot;

The rink mentioned in the Tribune news article was for outdoor ice skating and was located on the Fuller’s Bay part of Fountain Lake and at the east end of Mariners Lane.

In early 1920 the people of Albert Lea were intensely preparing for the Winter Sports Carnival. However, what they weren’t prepared for was a serious influenza epidemic. On Jan. 23, 1920, the local board of health declared a quarantine on public gatherings. Thus, Albert Lea’s original Winter Sports Carnival never took place.

In spite of the abrupt cancellation, there was a large slide behind the Jones residence, all those fancy uniforms, and quite a few toboggans to be used. So for the remainder of that winter and a few more winters to follow, the local cold weather fad was toboggan teams. No competition was involved, Going down on the slide and out on the lake was a thrill for both young and old. The iced-up slide would allow teams on their toboggans to zip across Fountain Lake nearly to the ice house then located near the south end of Lakewood Avenue.

For the toboggan teams, ice skaters and bobsled riders, there was a part of Fountain Lake on the east side towards the dam which was to be avoided. This was where ice was being harvested from the lake.

The first toboggan slide was replaced with another slide at the same location and was built by the American Legion in December 1924. Mark S. Jones recently commented that this second toboggan slide was soon moved to a place in or near Frank Hall Park and used for a few more years.

Local children also used their small sleds on the two slides for extra long trips out onto the frozen lake.

There was, however, an interesting problem with this first slide. The Jan. 19, 1920, issue of the Tribune said, &uot;Many a youngster could not resist the temptation and slid down on the seat of his pants. Our advice is the mothers of these miscreants is that they play safe and not spank them with the bare hand. May be inviting slivers, you know. However, we cannot allow anything on the slide that is not a toboggan. Toboggans only are safe on such a stiff icy grade …&uot;

The late Otis A. &uot;Bub&uot; Simonson remembers still another pair of slides which took advantage of local topography and the lake, and indicated some youthful wintertime ingenuity.

He explained there was a bobsled slide by the Lakeshore Greenhouse ( now the site of several condominiums) on the north side of the lake. A trip from this slide ended below the Catholic church on the south side of the lake. Then the bobsled crew would climb the embankment and go back across the lake from a different slide. Thus, the two slides allowed plenty of back and forth traffic across the ice.

&uot;We’d sprinkle down the slides whenever a cold night was coming to get even more speed for the sleds to get across the lake,&uot; Simonson once said.

In more recent years the local search for slippery slopes for sledding has been focused on the Lakeview School area and around Frank Hall Park.

Several older model sleds and two toboggans is now a part of a display at the Freeborn County Historical Museum.

Next: Information about a once challenging and popular wintertime activity known as ice boating.