Day 23. Steer clear of the horse manure

In the winters when days were easier and people were not so quick to sue, cities around the area put metal toboggan slides at the top of hills to provide a quick start and a promise of a longer run. In Cudahy the run was situated at the top of the hill just opposite of Sheridan pool. 

With a good push and a slick packed-down hill of snow you could almost make it all the way to the corner of Packard and Lake Drive, that is if you didn't plow into a tree first. Now don't panic, the city had gone to great lengths and spared no expense when it came to protecting the children in the area. 

They packed straw and horse manure around the trunks of the trees. You read that correctly, straw and manure. 

I would have liked to be in that common council meeting. "How do we protect the kids from running into the tree trunks?" 

"I know - let's pack them with horse manure - that is soft when you hit it!"

If you had a sled with metal runners you had a better chance of avoiding the trees since you could steer it. If you had a silver saucer like Chevy Chase rides down the hill in "Christmas Vacation" your only hope was to bail before you got too close and roll in the opposite direction.

Now none of this accounts for someone going down the shoot after you and aiming in your direction, trying to bump you into the manure lined trees. A sort of winter 'kid pinball'.

You do have to ask yourself why would they use straw and manure. It was actually quite genius if you think about it. I'm guessing that a horse boarding owner would be happy to sell or even give the raw materials to the cities. It would help them to clear the stalls and in some cases - gain a little income.

My brother had the hardest time avoiding the trees and always came home stinking to high heaven, but with a big smile on his face from the day at the park.

In Oak Creek the toboggan slide was on a much smaller hill by the legion. You would have to have quite a good solid push to make it to the tree line since it was almost a quarter mile away. The slide was not very well used - not because of the lack of danger, but because there was a much taller hill on the other side of the field. 

Parkway Estates Park had a small playground and a huge hill. If you made it past the tree line you could even end up in the creek. It was tough, but possible. Especially if it had a nice layer of ice on the hill.

In those days winter ware for kids in my family consisted of as many pair of jeans you could layer on and still move, a winter jacket, gloves or mittens - matching was not necessary and sometimes socks could double as mittens if you were really desperate. If you were lucky enough, you had boots - otherwise you wore an old pair of tennies. 

It also was quite common to see a familiar piece of kitchen trash sticking out of your boots. Bread bags could double at boot liners, and although it added no extra warmth, they did do a good job of keeping your feet dry - unless you hit the water in the creek - then it became a nice way to bring back water.

And I guarantee you that would always be a goal - even going so far as pulling a flat piece of cardboard through the long grass and trees to make a run down the bank - to end up on or in the creek. A goal, thankfully, I never made.

I almost broke my arm one time when I was going down the hill and one of my friends, who will remain anonymous, pulled her sled in front of me as a joke, sadly she didn't quite pull it out in time, resulting in me hitting it with my elbow. I rolled in the snow for quite a long time, I put my hand up my sleeve and pulled out a bloody hand. I'm not sure who was more shocked. My friend kept apologizing and I was sure I was going to get a cool cast. 

But no such luck, although I do still have a scar on my arm as a reminder of the day.

I spent plenty of time on that hill and also introduced it to my sons when they were growing up. We would take our black lab along and have her pull the sled back up. She loved riding down the hill on the sled, but would bail when the sled slowed down causing us to capsize.

Now they have street lights so you can sled well into the evening, after all the little kids are safely tucked in their beds. You also have better sled options, inner tubes, snow boards, and plastic gliders. 

So grab your hot chocolate, your best flexible flyer sled, and if you have one a dog since there aren't any rope tows on this hill. I'll bring the socks and the bread bags.