Pull up an ice block and lend an ear as the story of a winter sport that originated over a century ago on the mountaintop in Eagles Mere is told. The historic Eagles Mere toboggan slide has been a local thrill ride, weather permitting, since 1904. And the design and method originated over a century ago is still executed by volunteers on cold January days when the ice on the lake is 12 inches thick.

Last winter volunteers plowed the ice field on a Wednesday but by Friday the weather had warmed to 58 degrees.

“When the weather warms up the ice on the lake gets real porous and turns white and it’s dangerous for the equipment and people to be on the lake,” Brian Smith, president of the Eagles Mere Slide Association, said. “Weather is the key. We’ve built it and then it’s rained and the slide melted or we could only open for one Sunday afternoon.”

The last time the slide was open was 2014.

Liam McGarvey, 22, of Cogan Station, remembers riding the slide with high school friends.

“It was cold but we were all bundled up,” McGarvey said. “I’ve never seen anything like it — a ride onto a frozen lake. It was really busy. It wasn’t a tradition for us but you could tell it was a tradition for many people. The ride was short and fast. I remember most being on the lake and walking off it.”

Riders reach speeds of 45 mph on the slide made up of over 1,000 blocks of ice cut from the southeast area of the lake. The blocks are 15 inches wide, 44 inches long and 12 inches thick weighing 256 pounds. The slide is built on a steep hill known as Lake Avenue. The specially made toboggan will glide down the hill and half-way across the lake, 1,200 feet from its starting point. Then the riders begin the climb back up the hill.

The idea for the slide began with Captain E.S. Chase who moved to Eagles Mere from Williamsport in 1886 to become the manager for the Eagles Mere Syndicate. He was an engineer and helped in many ways to develop the village. He initiated plans for the streets of the village, cutting the Arrow paths and the popular Laurel Path around the lake. Chase also mapped the depths of the lake which hadn’t been done before.

Chase’s grandchildren asked him to build a “real good toboggan slide.” He came up with the idea to build a slide of ice. He planned to haul thick blocks of ice from the lake to the hill and cut grooves in the ice to keep the sleds in place. He had a special wooden toboggan built with metal runners to fit into the tracks.

The village of Eagles Mere in 1904 declared a holiday and helped to build the slide. The workers used hand saws to cut the blocks of ice which were hauled by horse and wagon to the hill. Some of the men who helped with the original slide were Phil Houseknecht, Clayton Dunham, Clarence Brink, Norman Brink, Ed Worthington and Harry Stevens.

Legend says the first to ride the slide didn’t use a sled but rather a heavy iron scoop-shovel. Harry Stevens flew down the hill so fast a trail of smoke developed as he gained momentum racing across the lake. His observers ran down the hill to find Stevens with the seat of his pants burnt and still smoking. Only his dignity was marred though as everyone grinned and joked over his escapade. The first slide ran from January through March.

An article on the slide was published in the Farm and Fireside Journal in 1905 and said, “Toboggans of all shapes and sizes blossom forth to try this winter wonder. It knocks time out of the best Whizzer of your boyhood and gives an awakening twist to the nerves…”

In 1926, Mrs. Edward Munson paid to have the toboggan slide built for her guests during Christmas. An entire ice ballet company from New York performed on the lake using car headlights as stage spots for the show.

In 1929, two slides were built. Don Haman built a wooden ramp five or six feet high to create more speed. When timed, the two racing toboggans were similar in speed. The structure was discontinued, but the double slide was built for several years.

It was a mild winter in 1929 and the ice on the lake was slushy. Builders worked during cold nights to construct the slide so riders could enjoy it during the day. During the depression years it was unanimously decided to continue the slide. The men who built the slide received 10 cents an hour and shared in the profit of its operation. This continued for three or four winters in the 1930s. By the end of the 1930s, manual labor was raised to 20 cents per hour. During World War II the slide was not built, but around 1945 the slide resumed and became a volunteer project.

The cost to use the slide was 10 cents. The Sports Association built toboggans with two runners to fit the grooves in the ice, and the first one built by Harry Watts. For safety the sleds were rented for a fee of 50 cents.

Today there are normally 12-15 volunteers helping mark the ice field on Friday. Starting about 25 feet from the shore line, a string is stretched 140 feet parallel to the shore. A marker is then pushed down along the string. The marker used to score the ice is possibly the only one in existence and was constructed years ago especially for the slide. A right angle is then formed at a corner and a line is stretched 40 feet and marked. After measuring out 20 feet, a line is marked down the middle of the field. Then the marker is used to make lines 22 inches wide the length of the field, explained Smith. After marking out a channel towards the shore, the ice is then ready for cutting. The ice field yields 1,200 blocks of ice. The saw is set so that about a half an inch of ice is left to be cut by hand. This is done so that water doesn’t get into the cuts and refreeze.

Smith said there are about 40 people, including a handful of village residents and 12 to 18 people from the Muncy Valley Fire Company, to help move the ice blocks on Saturday. A tractor is hooked up to an elevator by a belt. The ice blocks are then cut by hand saws and broken apart by the use of breaker bars. After enough blocks are loose, they are floated into the channel and pushed onto the elevator. The last row is left intact to make it easier to move the ice blocks down the field. Wooden blocks connected to a chain lift the blocks out of the water and onto the chute. The blocks are then loaded onto trailers. 8 foot trailers can hold six blocks of ice. The blocks are removed with ice tongs. Starting 50 feet out on the lake, the blocks are put in place. This is done so that the ice doesn’t slide down when placed on the hill, Smith explained. A string is used to keep the blocks as straight as possible. This takes most of the day. After all the blocks are in place, snow is packed alongside the slide. “If no snow is available a fire truck sprays the slide with water to lock it all together,” Smith said.

Sunday morning the slide is grooved. Beginning at the top, a board is laid on one side of the ice, even with the edge. The groove is then marked out by pushing the groover along the board by hand. The groover is used twice. Then a marker and planer are used on the slide to insure a groove two inches deep and 22 inches wide. A snow plow is then used to clean the ice and the safety of the slide is tested by volunteers. It takes approximately 380 man hours to build the slide, Smith said. The grooves are recut Friday afternoons each week the slide runs, Smith explained. Then the grooves are plowed and broomed.

Smith has been the Slide Association president for close to 20 years. His father Alvin Smith Jr and grandfather Alvin Sr. both helped with the slide. His daughter, Kasie Moore, manages the website. Jeremy Moore is vice president and Shelly Vest is secretary and treasurer. Members of the Slide Association maintain the slide equipment and repair sleds during the off season. Insurance for the slide is through a company in Colorado. “It’s the only place that would insure us,” Smith said. “They offer insurance to ski resorts.”

After the slide is built two trailers are positioned at the top of the hill. One stores 55 toboggans and provides a warm up room, and the other is a snack bar operated by members of the Eagles Mere Federated Church and Civic Club. Hot dogs, chili, cocoa, coffee, soda and chips are sold.

When the slide is open it’s a good fundraiser for the area fire companies, Smith said. “When we are open full time there is a chance for each of the county fire companies to make a percentage depending on how many weekends we are open and they make a percentage of what we take in for the day. There are nine fire companies in the county and each one has a day to work.”

The fire companies include Eagles Mere, Forksville, Muncy Valley, Hillsgrove, Laporte, Eldredsville, Endless Winds or Shunk, Dushore and Mildred. The slide is open from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays when weather permits.

“Cost to ride is $25 an hour for the sled and two rides are guaranteed,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter if two or six people ride on the sled.”

“On a good weekend as many as 1,700 people may ride down the slide. One year the slide ran for 11 weekends beginning on New Year’s Day. That was an extreme. I think it was in the ’80s.”

It hurts all the businesses when the slide doesn’t operate, Smith said. Rich and Deb Fry, owners of Katie’s Country Store in Muncy Valley, have only had the slide run a few times in the 11 years they’ve operated the business. “Maybe more people will come up this year if it runs because it’s been so long since it’s operated,” Deb Fry said.

Richard Lobach, Eagles Mere mayor and operating partner of the Eagles Mere Inn, said he’s never witnessed the building of the slide. “I can’t wait to see it happen,” Lobach said. “From what I understand if the slide is built it’s an economic boom for all merchants in Eagles Mere.”