A free day and a hill covered with snow and sleet, just beckoning. What child could resist?
These Lawton Public Schools students couldn’t, and the north slope of Cameron University’s football stadium – a winter lure for sledders for decades – was happy to play host as a weekend of sleet and snow provided the perfect opportunity to test skill and creativity.
Not everyone on the slope was an LPS student – in fact, not everyone was under age 18 – but the glee of childhood was evident as everyone stomped up the ice-covered hill to get to the top, then rode their sled of choice to the bottom and across the parking lot.
Sledding materials varied widely: pieces of cardboard (a pile on the western edge of the play area provided material for those without, a father said), plastic that once had other uses, including a backboard by two ambulance EMTs.
The climb to the top of the hill was the hardest part of the run, said Whittier Elementary fifth grader Nancy Carrillo, who with her twin brother Amancio, took their lead from their mom Annette and used plastic sleds to whiz down the slope then make it about three-quarters of the distance to Gore Boulevard.
“It’s fun,” Nancy said, admitting she really couldn’t explain how she was getting such good distance (her brother was equally mute on the question). “I’m using my mom’s sled.”
Mom may be the secret. Annette Carrillo is from Chicago, where winter weather and sledding are part of growing up.
“Every time it snows, we’re going to come sledding,” she said, as she headed off for another run.
Tommy Harrison, a math teacher at Lawton High School and the Life Ready Center, said the key to the fastest time and farthest distance may be materials – his theory was metal may be the best surface, adding with a grin that the problem might make a good math lesson. Although Harrison was there with his children, he couldn’t resist a run down the hill.
Janise Gregory, a sixth grader at Central Middle School, would disprove that theory. Janise had spent two days riding a sled made of Plexiglass, getting some serious distance by the time she hit the bottom of the hill. The best part?
“Getting snow in my face,” she said with a broad smile, adding the secret to a good ride was “hang on and let it (the sled) go down.”
Janise can thank her grandmother for the sled. Staci Davis said she considered just what would make good sledding material for someone who doesn’t have a “real” sled, then realized that pieces of Plexiglass that had been used on transit buses during COVID would be perfect size for a sled. Drill a few holes, loop a piece of cord through and tie it for a handle, and “you had a sled,” Staci said as she headed back up the slope for another run.
Lyra Certeza, a second-grader at Eisenhower Elementary, used and discarded one idea. She and her sisters arrived at Cameron hill Monday with two options: her sisters had the “real” sled, while Lyra used something the family suggested: a laundry basket. Lyra was small enough to comfortably sit inside the basket and she aimed it down hill. The run started out promising, before she spun, hit a bump and tipped over in a spectacular flip and tumble that left her face down for a few seconds. A second run in the basket ended the same way, although the spin and flip were less spectacular.
“No,” Lyra said firmly when her family asked if she would try the basket again as she hitched a ride on a “real” sled with her older sister.