| An Old-Time Champion of the Hills.
An old fram sled which the hand of time ha touched lightly and which has passed unscathed through the peris of the years of coasting down the steep hills of Fitchburg, came into the possession of Mrs. Sidney Sibley, Tuesday. The sled belonged to Albert Griswold, who remembers it to have been one of the envied belongsings of his father, W. W. Griswold (1813-1863), who came here over 75 years ago, from Fryburg, Me., and was for some time the only jeweler in Fitchburg. In the period of its active service over half a century ago, the sled maintained a proud pre-eminence as "the champion of the hills." It was the only thing of that sort on runners in the town which would carry four persons. Its memory is still cherished by the boys and girls of that time to whose pleasure it contributed, when there was no police interference with the sliding down hill wherever the smoothest going prevailed. The favorite slide was from the top of Pound hill and this champion long held the record of being able to carry its load from the summit to the River street bridge without a stop. Albert Griswold recalls that one night a party of four, while coasting down Pound hill, ran into a sleigh whose occupant was a man by the name of Carter. On the sled were two of his older brothers, William F. and Edward Griswold, George T. Daniels and Ira S. Younglove, all of whom have now passed to the beyond. The sled came out of the mix-up with hardly a scratch, the sleigh was laid up for repairs, and Ira Younglove was taken home on the sled with a broken leg. Mr. Griswold saw Mr. Younglove in Chicago only a few days before his recent death and talked over this and other incidents of boyhood days. Viewed through the glamour of the years, the broken leg had become one of the joyous events of his youth. The desire of Mrs. Sibley to come into possession of this sled on account of its association was made known to Mr. Griswold, and he took it to her home on Mt. Globe street, Tuesday morning. On the way he encountered Captain John B. Proctor, 82 years old, who promptly accepted Mr. Griswold's invitation to take a ride and was drawn the length of Pleasant street. On dismounting, the captain dared Mr. Griswold to go coasting. |