The Roanoker-November/December 2021 - 82

We'll begin with Stanley Avenue in South
Mike Ashley's Favorites
Mike Ashley grew up in Salem and
today is a nationally-prominent sports
writer living in the D.C. area. He describes
himself as " the 60-year-old guy that still
spies hills for great sledding, fields and
yards for the perfect wiffle ball park. " He
is a perpetual 10-year-old.
Conehurst Boulevard in Salem is one
of the memorable hills for him. " Lost a
chunk out of my chin riding down headfirst, "
he says. " The beauty was you could
turn around on the other side of the hill
and ride the street, which I once did on ice
all the way down past my house and to the
old Women's Club building. My yard was
pretty good, too, a slalom course of trees
and either edge of the brick house. If you
could hit the gutter next to the driveway
just right, you could really fly. "
Ashley says he " grew up on Conehurst
Boulevard with one of the best sledding
hills in kiddom, at least so I thought until
I was of age to mow the yard every week
in the fall, spring and summer.
" The two-story, red brick house stood in
the middle of a long, somewhat thin track
of land. From the street, a driveway snaked
up the left side to a two-car garage. Most
people never mastered backing down
that drive, 40 yards long with a big turn
near the bottom. Two trees just on the
other side -our property but seemingly
the neighbors' - claimed the bumper of
about as many cars as the Charlie Brown
tree devoured kites.
" The front yard was a winter slalom
of tall trees, a light post and if you could
land the finish down from the other side
of the house, you'd cruise over the sidewalk
right between another tree and
our mailbox onto Conehurst Boulevard.
Many times my sled hit the house as I
bailed.
" The gravel, and later asphalt, driveway
gave me my first knee stitches in a
wayward biking incident, but the snow,
as we all cherished, was much more
forgiving. "
And finally, " No mention of Salem
sledding would be complete without
Longwood Park, where I remember a
friend's dad taking us a couple of times.
There was strength in numbers among
kids and the hill was inviting, but the
hot chocolate at the old mansion even
more so. " -DS
Roanoke, which according to noted Roanoke
artist Eric Fitzpatrick, was unparalleled. Eric
painted the Stanley Avenue scenes accompanying
this story.
It was " our old neighborhood hangout, "
he says. " I had an incident there in which I
wrecked on my brother Bev's old sled which
wouldn't guide. I caught my finger between
the runner and the curb and sliced the tip off
of it. I remember seeing the bone amid the
blood. Mom and dad ended up buying me a
new Flexible Flyer sled as a result. It's the sled
hanging in the ceiling of the studio. " The city
used to block off Stanley with barricades and
there were bonfires lit to warm your hands.
They wouldn't plow it for days. It was the best. "
Becky Ellis remembers Stanley as not only
the best sledding hill, but as " the same street
that has 'thousands' of children that show
up to trick or treat on Halloween. " Frank
D'Alessandro recalls " Stanley Avenue off
Neuhoff hill [when] the street was closed, fire
barrels burning and cocktails a flowing. " Bill
Elliott has similar memories of Stanley Avenue
and later " Peakwood in my teens. Helluva ride. "
Lisa Ann Thomas recalls that " folks knew
not to park on the street and sometimes neighbors
had a fire going and hot chocolate " for the
sledders. " It was a major scary hill but super
fun. She also had great fun at " the [municipal]
golf course in Salem because " it's beautiful with
lots of tracts and loads of folks and the best
82 November/December 2021
TheRoanoker.com
DAN SMITH
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker-November/December 2021

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