For the first time in 11 years, toboggans are once again shooting across the frozen Eagles Mere Lake at speeds up to 45 miles an hour. The slide association announced a tentative opening, marking the return of a cherished tradition. It is the first time the ice on the lake has been thick enough to build the slide since 2014. Residents express excitement at the return of the Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide.
Eagles Mere, located about 160 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Sullivan County, has a rich history. In 1681, William Penn received a large tract of land from King Charles II of England. After changing hands several times, a wealthy Englishman named George Lewis bought the lake and over 10,000 acres surrounding it for $1 an acre. In 1803 he began laying out the plans for a town he called Lewis Lake.
Largely agrarian in the early 1800's, it wasn't until the 1860's when people started to envision the lake as an ideal vacation spot and began building cottages. Eagles Mere was the ideal get-away from the heat, flies, and summer disease in Philadelphia. In 1886 a civil engineer named Embley Chase was instrumental in developing street plans, building water and sewer systems, and bringing electricity to the community. It was during this time that the family who owned the lake changed the name from Lewis Lake to Eaglesmere (eventually Eagles Mere). In the late 1890’s a number of large hotels were constructed and visitors from nearby Philadelphia, Baltimore and Harrisburg would flock to Eagles Mere for the cool mountain air.
In the 1950's the world began to modernize and fewer people made the trip up the mountain. A few of the hotels burned down and the others went out of business. With the hotels gone, many people thought Eagles Mere would simply fade away. There was, however, several constants throughout all of Eagles Mere's history that would never change: stunning natural beauty, clean, fresh mountain air, and the generations of families who came here.
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The Slide's Construction and Operation
Volunteers were hard at work building the Eagles Mere Toboggan Slide. The ice blocks are slid into place after they have been cut far out on the lake and driven up the hill 6 at a time.
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The ice is 10 inches thick and with the cold weather it is expected to be an inch or two thicker. Ice to form the slide at the foot of Lake Avenue will be cut from the lake. The ice will be ripped into 150 44-inch-wide blocks that will form the slide. Volunteers have been working on the old equipment used to cut the ice and form the slide.
The toboggan slide is made up of thick blocks of ice - each weighing 300 pounds - that are cut from the lake and stacked behind one another, block after block, up a steep street. One group set up far down the lake, sawing large blocks of ice and floating them toward a flume-like conveyor like loggers of yesteryear. From the conveyor, the 300-pound blocks were transported over the lake via ATVs and UTVs, about a quarter mile away to Lake Avenue, a street that rises from the water to the heart of Eagles Mere.
On Lake Avenue, another crew set the blocks in place, one by one. The slide took shape and slowly rose up the street as the morning turned into late afternoon, and the wind sent icy dust devils dancing across the frozen lake. After the slide was built, volunteers spent most of carving a groove down the middle with another homemade contraption that made natural rails and helps keep the toboggans from veering off into disaster. All told, there would be 850 ice blocks, laid out approximately 1,200 feet from the top of the street down onto the lake, a steep run that puts some cold wind in your face.
Only toboggans rented on-site for $40 an hour can be used. Each is guaranteed two rides. Free parking is available on Pennsylvania Avenue and Route 42.
A Tradition Rooted in History
When weather has permitted, the slide has operated since 1904. Capt. E.S. Chase, a prominent figure in the development of the borough, is credited with coming up with the idea. Historical records state he was inspired by his grandchildren to create a safe toboggan slide at the foot of Lake Avenue. He oversaw its construction and developed the method for grooving the ice, reports state.
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The slide has become a major attraction with people from beyond Pennsylvania wanting to experience what are described as exhilarating rides.
Impact on the Community
The Eagles Mere Ice Toboggan is not just a quaint little throwback to a simpler time. It’s a major fundraiser for local fire departments and an unexpected boon for local businesses in town, and along all the empty, mountainous roads that lead to it. Businesses in Eagles Mere, which has a permanent population of about 150 that swells to about 2,500 in the summer, also benefit from the slide.
The slide is a major fundraiser for the borough’s volunteer fire company which is looking to buy a new tanker and make improvements at the fire hall. Sullivan County’s other volunteer fire companies share in the proceeds by each helping out for a day.
The snack shack is ready to open, also. Anticipating big crowds since it has been so long since the slide operated. In 2014, for the last slide, an estimated 7,200 people came to town. This year, there could be more, and that rush is enough for the historic Eagles Mere Inn to turn the water back on, fire up the heat, and get the soup and chicken wings cooking. Hotels in nearby towns and the county’s slew of Airbnbs are also expecting a rush.
The longtime, permanent residents, vacation homeowners, businesses, and most other people here in deeply rural Sullivan County pray for ice, hoping winter’s bony hands conjure up a deep freeze.
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The Future of the Slide
To be financially successful the slide must be in operation a minimum of two or three weekends. Being open Presidents Day weekend would be a plus. The season ends when water appears on the ice as melting occurs. Now that it’s built, the slide can survive brief temperature swings. Rain would hurt, and fog would be worse. Either way, it won’t last long. This year has been a lesson in living in the moment, some said at the slide, for counting the blessings of the rare, bitter cold they’ve long hoped for. There’s no sense in thinking about next year.
Most volunteers and visitors milling around the slide said they couldn’t remember a gap so large in the ice toboggan tradition. Winters used to be consistently cold, they said, the ice a constant.
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