Fort Lee is a town, unlike any other Bergen County town, bifurcated by a bridge. Not just any bridge--the George Washington Bridge. Growing up in Fort Lee, your geography was defined by whether you lived north of the bridge or south of the bridge. It also defined where you played, strayed and misbehaved.

For a small town, there were enclaves of even smaller communities--Coytesville, The Hollow, Lower Main Street...and many more. And each had their own place to go sledding.

Growing up in Coytesville, east of Lemoine, the place to sled was Interstate Park, behind Fort Lee High School, known by my generation as Sunny Park. Back then, (did I really just say back then?) Sunny Park had an ice skating rink that was guarded (trust me, guard is the appropriate word here) by an old German man named Fritz. Fritz also kept the fire we all used to gather around for warmth going. (Fritz spent summers lifeguarding the kiddie pool at Sixth Street Park.)

It is safe to say that Fritz performed his jobs well--sufficiently scaring gererations of kids into obedience and therapy.  

The best part about sledding the hills of Sunny Park was that the ride began once you reached the bottom of the hill and the blade of your sled hit the rink. That's when the marriage of steel and ice took you flying at warp speed across the rink causing skaters to panic and flee like the little screaming Cousin Its in Pac Man. The best were the kids with the flying saucers, or steel garbage can covers, who spun around the ice like a bunch of Battling Tops.

Where did you use to go sledding on snow days? Share your memories with us and let's take a trip back in time. If you have pictures post them here, or email to annpiccirillo@yahoo.com and I'll post them.