I have vivid memories of how excited I was when the first big snow storms hit North Ogden in early winter. As more and more snow storms hit and the snow became deeper and deeper, I took a ruler outside to measure it. When it was a foot deep, I was very excited.

One of my happiest Christmases occurred when the family received a Flexible Flyer sleigh for Christmas. I knew it was not mine, but felt it was partially mine and I could use it. It was fairly short but a first rate sleigh, shiny and bright, painted with a red streak down the middle. It was built with a steel frame with sturdy wood on top and steel runners. On the front was a strong turning handle, attached to the frame that I could hold on to and steer to the right or the left. In back of our house was a little hill that descended gradually away from our home to the west. After we had tromped a path for a day or two, down towards the granary and chicken coops, the snow in the path became hard and slick, and sometimes icy. I would run from the top of the hill in the back of our house and slam the sleigh onto the path. With the same motion, I’d throw my body onto the sleigh and ride it down past the granary and towards the chicken coops.

Occasionally, I was allowed to take the sleigh to a hill on Mountain Road, east and south of our place. With other kids on their sleighs,I went “lickety split” down the hill. I’d turn west, down the hill onto Gardener’s Lane, now 1700 North Street, and ride far down the street. Sometimes, when the roads were icy, we could go almost a quarter of a mile. When 2600 north was covered with snow and ice on wintry days, school children, including me, had fun during recess riding a large bob sled from the old North Ogden Central school to Washington Boulevard, perhaps half a mile away.

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