Sled:Jack Jumper Sled

Winter snowfall seems to encourage daredevil play in some children and adults. Riding a jack jumper sled down a hillside certainly required a sense of darinig and demanded a special degree of balance and agility. A jack jumper sled consists of a single wooden ski or barrel stave, surmounted by a seat on a raised stalk. The form enjoyed a degree of popularity in New England during the last half of the 19th century and into the first portion of the 20th century. Joseph Handfield, the original owner of this sled, was born in 1918 in Ayer, Massachusetts. He used the sled during his boyhood and later passed it down to his son, who reported little success in his attempts to ride it down slopes.