|
When Winter Arrives
For John Black, when the Union River froze over and the sawmills shut down, logging teams would head into the woods to cut timber so that there would be plenty of logs ready to float downstream in the spring thaw. And as roads became coated with ice and snow, travel across the state and down to Boston meant switching from “wheeling” in carriages to “sleighing” on metal runners. The following excerpts from John's travel journal contrast the delight and danger of winter travel conditions.
December 29, 1844, "Left Bangor in the stage at 7 o’clock a.m. on runners. Not very good sleighing, but much safer and better than wheeling…The coach that left Augusta yesterday morning was upset in Vasselboro and every passenger hurt more or less…”
December 23,1846, “Left Bangor at 4 a.m. – snowing a little – continued to snow lightly until about noon, when it cleared off – very pleasant – the sleighing good.”
The horse-drawn sleighs were also outfitted with lap robes and foot warmers while studs were hammered into horse's shoes to provide traction on ice and snow. And older form of snow tire!
Nineteenth century prints and paintings give the impression of joyful winter sleighing. Families are depicted bundled in coats and hats speeding across snowy terrain in brightly painted open sleighs under sunny skies. But winter weather could be miserable too, and John Black often traveled after dark. On such occasions, the best ride was in an enclosed sleigh, like the one in the picture of John's at Woodlawn, right outside the sleigh barn.
Woodlawn also has family sleighs, five that are 'open' and range in size from a small one-horse Portland Cutter to a large, two-seater manufactured in Ellsworth that could comfortably carry up to six people. The fanciest sleighs were beautifully painted and had stylish metal runners that ended in graceful curls. The sleighs are all quite different and the collection extraordinary for a small museum.
| 
