Big crowd at Lisbon Winter Fest
Snow, homemade sled run attracts kids, adults
The town's third annual Winter Fest at Community Park was rescued last weekend by a fortuitous snow fall, the late arrival of seasonally cold temperatures and the ingenuity of a park superintendent.
Scores of kids and adults enjoyed ice skating, sledding, hot dogs and hot chocolate, along with neighborly fellowship in a make-shift warming house and around a giant bonfire, at an event that some town officials had feared would not happen.
As the weekend approached, unseasonably warm temperatures and a lack of snow appeared to be jeopardizing most of the winter fun that had been scheduled in the park near Oakwood and Lake Five roads. The town's municipal neighbor, the Village of Sussex, postponed its winter fest earlier in the week because of the disagreeable weather conditions.
But, Lisbon Park Superintendent John Greiten began improvising. On Thursday, Greiten began scraping snow off the ground in other sections of the park and hauling it to the sledding hill near the center of the park.
Greiten, using a dump truck and a tractor, built a make-shift sled run about 4-feet wide and about 6-inches thick on top of the brown, barren ground from the top to the bottom of the large hill that links the upper and lower levels of the park.
An overnight snow, followed by below-freezing temperatures, and a brisk wind, created an icy launching pad at the top of the hill where youngsters could send themselves catapulting down and across the lower level of the park to near the edge of the woods along the Bug Line Recreational Trail and Bark River.
"Fast and slick," was how Town Supervisor Dan Fischer described the sled run as kids whizzed past him.
"John did a great job," added Town Chairman Matt Gehrke. "A couple of days ago we weren't sure we would be able to do this. I am glad so many people showed up and are having a good time."
Youngsters and adults were also having a good time on the ice skating rink built onto the lower level parking lot. The rink had also been a source of concern. Earlier in the year, a crack in the pavement was preventing the parking lot from being flooded for the ice rink.
The unseasonably warm weather and faulty ice rink did not worry Supervisor Joe Osterman.
"I wasn't worried, we have got John Greiten, he can perform miracles," quipped Osterman
"Sunshine, blue skies, and cold temperatures, what more could you want?" added Park Committee Chairwoman Marlene Kumistch.
Kumistch and Greiten are thinking about adding a chili cook-off to next year's event. Newly installed electrical service at the lower level shelter would provide the energy resources to keep the chili, as well as the cooks, warm during the winter festivities.
The winter fest was intended to give town residents an opportunity to meet the town board and town officials and to show off the 125-acre park that incorporates recreational and athletic facilities with natural hiking trails and access to the Bug Line and Bark River.
The town purchased the approximately 125 acres of farm and wood lands from the Bartlett Family for a $125,000 in 1988.
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