Recalling skiing, sledding in Pelican Rapids area

By Tom Runningen, “In and Around Pelican” columnist

Editor’s Note: Many of our readers will recognize the name of this columnist, Tom Runningen, as a local “social critic” with an opinion on just about everything. A Pelican Rapids native, Runningen is a regular at the Pool Hall.

The Press decided to bring his commentary out of the pool hall and on to the general public on a once to twice monthly basis.

Runningen’s views are not necessarily those of the Pelican Rapids Press.  Thoughts or responses to these columns?…email newsprpress@loretel.net

Did you know that Minnesota was recently picked as the coldest place in the United States to live–even over Alaska?!

Personally I would pick North Dakota because of the way the wind blows, creating extreme wind chills!

I think that’s why they are one of the highest rated college bar scenes in the nation.  But I would pick Kansas City as a great party town with blocks of fun hang-outs!

Back to ground control

As for living here in Pelican Rapids, growing up in Minnesota as a child can be a lot of fun. From spring to winter there is always something to do…fishing, golfing, hunting, skiing.

Do any of you remember skiing at Bucky Sorum’s Hill, south east of Pelican Rapids? Packing the slope with a side step maneuver up and down the hill? And then after being half worn out, up the rope tow, to the top…What a great time!

After that was Hallaway Hill. A great fun hang-out for the local skiers, which included: the Korda family, the Christophersons, Rundles, Pfiefles, Evensons, Lyons, Eltons, Tosos, McCrackens and of course Walter and I. What a great time!

Then we got to Detroit Mountain, which is now renovated and has grown enormously. With a new tubing facility, that helped create a record crowd last weekend; over 2,000 skiers, boarders and tubers. That number was on Saturday alone! A great time–only 25 miles from Pelican Rapids.

This memory could go on for pages, but the wind chill is more than  20 degrees below; my bloodflow is a little slow; so off to the pool hall I go!

Go Trump!