Henry J Kampe, 1916-1983, was this his sled?

 

“The sled belonged to your father.” This message has been passed down to me for years. Is this true or false?

 

Maybe it was not a dream; I remember seeing tracks down the hill at grandpa’s home in Frankfort, Will County, Illinois. The photo included in this blog is me on a sled in February 1943. Since I was born 1 August 1939, I would have been three and a half years old. The dream or memory in my mind plays out of descending down the long, to a child, gentle hill. I remember various tracks in the snow from numerous trips up and down the side yard.

 Is it possible that my dad had a flexible wooden sled? Yes, according to Wikipedia.com, “Samuel Leeds Allen patented the Flexible Flyer in 1889…” 

“Flexible Fliers are flexible both in design and usage. Riders may sit upright on the sled or lie on their stomachs, allowing the possibility to descend a snowy slope feet-first or head-first. To steer the sled, riders may either push on the wooden cross piece with their hands or feet, or pull on the rope attached to the wooden cross-piece. Shifting the cross-piece one way or the other causes the flexible rails to bend, turning the sled.”  Comparing my sled model with online photos, this sled may have been designed in the 1920s.

  The Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor, reminds us to wring out every detail in a photo. My dad’s hand writing provides the date as February 1943. Selma on the sled is the subject. This leaves only the location in question. Concrete blocks, tires and wood scraps appear in the upper half of the original photo. HINT: scan ALL of the original photo, keep original scan, crop for publication.

family

With my family staying in Will County, Illinois, the following are three possible locations:

• 1.    My maternal grandparents, the Schuler family lived at 815 Madison Street, Lockport. The garage was wooden. In the front yard was a short steep hill ending at the curb.
• 2.    My dad had purchased an old house at 56 Herkimer Street, Joliet. He remodeled this into six apartments. It would have had a back porch that may have had blocks, but doubt the tires. I doubt this was the place, very small yard, no hill. I attended first grade 1945-1946, so I doubt he owned the building in 1943.
• 3.    My paternal grandfather, William Kampe, lived at the edge of Frankfort. My dad grew up on this farm. The buildings consisted of the original barn with adjoining equipment shed, summer kitchen, garden, chicken house and home. All the buildings appeared to be the same vintage. Except, a large concrete block garage looked out of place at the end of the gravel turnaround between the garden and the chicken house. The garage was definitely more modern than the rest of the buildings.

 With these three choices, I would choose Frankfort. We visited often. It would be the safest for a three and a half year old child to slide down the grassy hill and stop safely with no traffic. Dad and his father were probably out working in the garage when I stopped at the bottom of the hill.

If this is my dad’s sled, they could have been cleaning out the garage as many of us are attempting to do today. Thank you, Deborah; the sled has a great new home. May this article be a tribute to the sled, my dad, my grandparents and many fond memories!!!

 Comments, Selma Kampe Blackmon, sbgenealogy@gmail.com.