http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/histland/recon-reports/lincol-with-map.pdf
Nashawtuc Hill. If you read the above New Yorker article you'll get a sense of what it used to be and what it is now in regards to real estate and the newly landed gentry. What you won't read, although she alludes to it by mentioning that she biked and slid and skated and walked the environs of Nashawtuc Hill for twenty years, is that there is a full house lot width swatch of land that stretches from the top of the hill down to the Concord River. It is completely undeveloped and I believe it is entrusted to stay that way. I'm standing in the center of the parcel at the top of the hill in the above picture.
I've been sledding on this hill since I was 7 or 8 years old, so almost twice as long as the New Yorker author. Mostly, in my youth, I came with my sister, two brothers, father and stepmom. Occasionally with the neighbor boys from Everett Street. It wasn't a very long walk with a sled and it was a very short drive. When we were young, I don't remember the locals making the ski and board jumps as steep as they do today.
There is something magical about a piece of land that remains untouched since childhood. Especially as the author mentions how many farm families and estate holders have sold off large parcels of Concord's central structure in my life time. My first love, the Town of Bolton, is practically twice the population of what is was when I lived there, due to the amount of construction and development of the land during the '80's-90's when 459 became the new 128: a digital corridor. In Lincoln, where my mother still lives there is one family that owns the best sledding hill in town. DeNormandie's Hill. It has been the open to the public for sledding during my whole lifetime. I believe that it has a similar stewardship preservation agreement to that of Nashawtuc's.
Nashawtuc Hill in Concord and DeNormandie's Hill are magical places. Nashawtuc runs steeply and straight down with a long flat run off before you come to a road just this side of the river. DeNormandie's has a two-pronged wide top, that rolls and bumps down to a narrow passage between a grove of trees after which it flats out for an easy run off. Both are steep to climb back up, but both are worth the climb for the rides you earn with the effort.
As a girl, I remember my legs turning blue, not from cold, but from the dye in my jeans soaking into my skin from the melting ice and snow. I remember frozen hair breaking off on the walks back home. I remember making up sledding games as teams and individuals that didn't involve any adult management or observations. I remember pausing at the top of both hills and looking at the views. In Concord there were many Grand Victorians to look at, and I, like the author, never set foot inside any of them (as a girl or now). The lent themselves to imagine the interior goings on of the families that lived there. Also like the author, I had imagined or read about the lives of all the Concord Center authors and visited their houses in homage. From the bottom of each hill, I can remember taking breaks to soak it all in. Generations of families trudging back up the hill or squealing down the hill on a Radio Flyer. The sound of the runners over a thick coating of ice. Watching the water birds out on the river ice. Once a dead deer on the ice that we wondered if a wild dog had killed.
On DeNormedie's hilltop, there were wonderful views of trees, sky, houses in the distance. Occasional x-country skiers taking advantage of the towns trail system that has easements everywhere. The ballet of the sleds trying not to crash into each other as they launched from dueling departure spots. The wipeouts to avoid such crashes were almost as fun to take as a successful run.
Toboggans were popular when we were kids. Racing them was popular, too. Now you don't see that much, if at all. Not sure why, exactly.
Now I bring my kids to these hills. We have plastic and inflatable sleds, not wood, metal or a combination of the two. Flying saucers of steel and Radio Flyers with metal blades no longer skitter down these hill. But there are snowboarders jumping, carving and shooshing down the slopes routinely.
The sky, river, birds and wildlife still remain. The love of playing in the snow with family and friends of all ages still remains. The thrill of the wind, snow and speed still remains. We try to introduce new friends to the hills, as they are public and there for the sharing. Good wholesome fun in the winter.
February break will soon be upon us. With three feet of snow already on the ground and nearly two more expected in the next four days, the base for sledding, and x-country skiing for me, will be perfect. So as much as I love to grouse about raking and shoveling, I'm hoping we get a reprieve from the relentless snow storms during the vacation so that we can actually go out and enjoy it.
Living large on very little. Experiences over stuff. That is what makes memories that last a lifetime.
Good night, snow bunnies, snow monkeys and snow dogs, G'night!
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