Rural Heritage June/July 2025

A sturdy wooden sleigh for winter travels.

kitchen, and a cradle, which had come from Dale’s family. On the fancier side, there is an ornate vis-a vis carriage and also a lovely sleigh with velvet upholstery. Some of the vehicles had very ornate metal dash rails all polished and shining. Everything is dusted and spotless, a true labor of love. Lois told us a story about a young fellow who approached Dale with an idea – the young man thought it would be very romantic to propose to his sweetheart in a horse-drawn sleigh in the forest. So, on the appointed evening, Dale and Lois transported their horse and sleigh to one of the many trails in the area, and Dale set out on the trail to a waiting point. The young man and his intended had set out from a different direction. At a pre-arranged time, Dale continued on the trail where he “just happened” to meet the young couple, who accepted his offer of a ride. It must have been a lovely evening for a drive in the woods. When they got back to where Lois was

waiting, the young lady got down from the sleigh, all rosy-cheeked and smiling. “You’ll never guess what just happened,” she said, holding out her hand to display the ring.“We just got engaged!” Lois nodded and smiled. “Oh, isn’t that lovely, dear,” she said, not letting on that she was in on the plan. A magical evening, indeed! After the formal part of the museum tour was over, we had time to wander around and more carefully examine the details of the vehicles. I was with a couple of ergonomically-minded club members who commented on the hitch-points of some of the vehicles – the line of draft, its effect on the horses, etc. I learned that when the traces hook to the seat springs, it can be harder on the horse because of the up-and-down inconsistency of the attachment. It’s little details like this that can make the difference between a horse that feels comfortable and one that doesn’t. Just inside the entryway sits an ice-racing cutter. It is a low-slung, minimalistic thing, with wide

Rural Heritage

46