In the early forties at the end of World War II, there were no big hills or the sled hill at Rotary Hill. We usually sledded in the street as the City did not salt or spread sand at the intersections. You had to drive carefully!
The best place to sled was on Huffman Street, just south of North Avenue near the Ss. Peter & Paul Cemetery. It was called Indian Hill, and nobody can tell me why it got that name!
The City actually would block off traffic in the best sledding conditions and as many as 75 kids and adults would sled down the street. On a really good day a person could belly flop and sled all the way to Chicago Avenue. Then there was the long walk back with the sled to the top of the hill again.
I recall in 1951 or maybe 1952 when many of us were sledding on a Saturday afternoon and one in our “gang” had the misfortune to break a runner off his sled. I think it was garbage pickup on the Monday following and there was this garbage can sitting there with no handle on the lid. One of the boys picked up the lid and sat in it going down the hill and it really looked like fun.
The next day, he showed up with two garbage lids with rope handles that his dad put on the rim. Man, did we have a ball with those lids. All at once this man drove up to the top of the hill and took a bunch of pictures.
Well, the rest is history. The next year there were saucers in the stores for fun in the snow!
At least twice a year my dad would pull me and three or four of my buddies behind the car and we would hook up feet to the front of each sled and dad would pull us all around north of the tracks. Great fun!
After Christmas as people put their Christmas trees on the curb for the City to pick up, I would take my sled and go around the neighborhood picking up trees that still looked pretty good. I’d bring them home and stick them in the snow in our side yard and my grandmother would put birdseed in little cups and hang them in the trees for the birds. In late February, Grandpa Keller would come in from the farm and take all the trees for his big burn pile on the farm. Then in late April we would have the great burning!
This next section addresses a request from Bev Frier. She wanted me to tell the story of Goose Pimple Heights. That neighborhood is the area north of Ogden between Eagle and Washington Street up to Bauer Rd. It got its name because when it was first developed in the late 1930s, the streets were gravel and there were no street lights, so it was a little scary walking home in the dark. I think originally it was an asparagus field and part of a pasture for whomever owned that property. There were no trees, it was wide open and dark and windy, hence the name: Goose Pimple Heights.
I will say that this explanation is almost the same story told to me by three “old time” Naperville residents. I’m just the messenger.
