EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2014.
LUCAS — In 1907, if you were to take a ride on a sled you would most likely be on a piece of farm equipment behind a horse. Sleds had runners instead of wheels, and were used to haul things over the ground.
If you wanted to fly down a snowy hillside riding on a piece of winter sports equipment, then you were on a “coaster.” This is how “roller coasters” got their name: they were conveyances moved by gravity — just like snow coasters — only on rollers.
If you look closely in this photo from downtown Lucas in 1907, in the right foreground you can see two sleighs parked on Union Street, a toboggan (on its side), and a farm sled — on the day this photo was taken being used as a “coaster.”
Timothy Brian McKee is a featured columnist on our site every Sunday with a column titled Native Son. Every Tuesday, he taps into his knowledge and collection of historical photos and bring us Then & Now, a brief glance at the way things were.
