Column: Woods & Water, by Dick Herfindahl

Winter is a season that we who choose to stay here all year-round have learned to tolerate and in most cases enjoy. Winters like this one that so far offered little or no winter outdoors activities can be a little taxing on a true Minnesotan.

Let’s face it, we love our outdoors activities like ice skating at a local park, sledding, skiing, fishing through a hole in the ice or just making a snowman with the kids and grandkids. Call me nuts, but I really do like a little snow cover in the winter if not for any other reason than seasonal purposes.

Yes, it seems like there was more snow years ago, which as a kid I enjoyed to the fullest extent. Sledding was our big thing as kids, and there was one particular year that Roger, the older neighbor kid, decided we should build a sledding track on the hill south of his house that adjoined the slough. We worked feverishly for days watering and packing the track to make it as fast as possible. The track started with a quick drop, then a straight run, followed by some banked curves and ended with a long straight run. We did a lot of test runs to iron out the bugs until it met Roger’s satisfaction. I had a pretty fast sled and was also smaller and younger than Roger, so I was sort of the crash-test dummy.

The first time I took my little Radio Flyer sled down that track, I couldn’t believe the speed I could muster. It almost seemed like you could use it for a luge track because you would really fly through that course. Every night for about a week we would meet after school and water it down and then meet back at the track after supper and run our sleds in the moonlight until our moms started calling us home. It was all exciting and fun until the night our friend Kenny wiped out in front of me, and I ran into his face putting a hole in his cheek with my sled. He needed stitches, and we were informed by the neighborhood mom police that the track was to be destroyed because it was too dangerous. That was too bad because it was one awesome run and nothing was more fun than flying down that hill on a moonlit night. It almost made you feel like you were on a rocket sled.

There was also the flying saucer or snow coaster, which was made out of metal and could fly over the top of the snow at some pretty amazing speeds. Unfortunately this too came with some risk, especially if the hill had some trees because steering wasn’t one of its strong suits.

Like so many of the brilliant ideas that we came up with as kids, all of the things that we called fun usually came with a certain element of danger. Snowball fights were always fun until someone started throwing ice balls, which led to retaliation and the filling of said ice balls with a few rocks. This usually came to an end when someone was hit in the cheek and started crying, which would send the injured warrior home and the rest of the kids scattering.

I had a paper route as a kid, and I always liked Thursday nights because that was collection night. That is when you would get to put a face to the house where you delivered. Winter was always a challenge, but I actually liked going out in the cold and snow. I’d wear my long johns, snow pants, a parka, stocking cap, scarf and most importantly my five-buckle overshoes. Trudging through the snow on a moonlit winter’s night as a kid made me at one with nature. Having a vivid imagination helped because I could imagine what Sergeant Preston of the Yukon must have felt like as he trekked through the snow with his trusty dog, King, at his side in search of the bad guys.

My favorite place to collect for the paper route was Hill’s Steakhouse, which was close to the airport. Bob Hill was a friend of my Dad’s, and I remember a particular winter night when it was snowing and blowing, and even my imagination couldn’t make it seem like much fun. I stopped by the kitchen door, which is where I always collected, and Mr. Hill opened the door. He invited me inside and asked if I was hungry — a strange question to ask a kid — and I said I was. He had the cook make me a big plate of French fries and give me a bottle of Coke. I can remember thinking that this was one of the neatest things anyone had ever done for me. Needless to say, you can probably guess who my favorite customer was from then on.

Until next time, have a very Happy New Year, and remember it’s always time well spent when you spend it in our great Minnesota outdoors.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers, especially during this holiday season. They are the reason that we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we enjoy today.

Dick Herfindahl’s column appears in the Tribune each Sunday.