Radio Flyer

As a youngster in the 1940’s I was fortunate to live near the top of Fisher Hill in Carthage, TN. There were sledding parties on snowy winter days and nights and other ways to descend the three hundred foot avenue during the warmer months.

It was exciting to descend the hill in a wagon. Usually I and Buddy Stilz were involved since he had the wagon. We would start at the bottom pulling the wagon up the hill as far as we dared. After the climb we would be seated one after the other with each holding the wagon back with a foot firmly planted on the pavement. Then the count began: “One!, Two!, Three!” The feet would be lifted and we were off down the street.

Successive trips were made at ever higher points. The thrill and our fears were tempered by experience. Finally the decision was made to go from the top! That meant that we would climb the hill past the intersection of Fisher Ave. & Cullum St. to the top corner of Walter Moss’s yard. So we were about four hundred feet up the street around two descending curves.

A successful trip required an immediate left turn followed by a sharp right to the main down-hill. By the time we reached the down-hill section our speed was as fast a Radio Flyer with eight inch wheels would go: about 25 mph. From then on it was just a matter of keeping the front wheels straight and praying that a car wasn’t coming up the hill! Braking and swerving were not options.

Buddy and I were making the maximum run, and no cars were ascending Fisher Avenue. We had a clean shot and the ‘Flyer’ was smoking! By the time we passed Papa Gore’s (Senator Albert Gore’s parents) house half-way down we were experiencing several emotions, the primary one being abject terror!

We were almost to the bottom of Fisher Ave. just past Frank Powell’s and in front of Ma. Chisom’s house when Buddy loosened his grip on the tongue, and the front wheels skewed to the side. The wagon flipped forward and we exited the Flyer. We sailed through the air like two rag dolls and sprawled on the pavement dazed and shaken! It was late fall and we both had on our warm coats so the bruises and scrapes were minimal. We figured that our wagon adventures had been satisfied. We were destined to satisfy our future needs for speed in other ways.