A Canadian Family

The Toboggan – A Gift From The First North Americans

The December edition of   Smile For the Camera is all about Gifts. “It is the holiday season and a time for giving. So give Smile readers the gift of sharing, sharing a family photograph. It can be a gift given or received, it can be the gift of talent, it can be the gift of having the photograph itself”.

My family had a special Christmas tradition when I was growing up. In the 1950s my parents didn’t have a lot of disposable income so in addition to the small gifts they bought for each of their 3 little girls, they would also choose one “big family present”. These were usually board games like Monopoly, Clues or Sorry, but one year we got a really big surprise for Christmas. It was a toboggan!

This vintage Canadian Sport Series postcard is from my private collection. It’s not a great quality card but it appeals to me because it really captures the feeling – and even the clothing – of my own 1950s childhood. I’m always on the lookout for images like these because I have so few family photographs to share.

The toboggan

“…..was perfected by Aboriginal North Americans for use in soft snow. The Anishinabe (Chippewa, Ojibwa or Saulteaux) called it nobûgidaban, from which the English word toboggan is derived. This type of carrier was made of thin hardwood boards, which were curved up at one end using heat or steam. Cleats of wood were attached across the boards to hold them together.”

  from – Snow Travel in Ancient Canada at the Canadian Museum of Civilization

Related Posts:

Tobogganing on Mount Royal

The Montreal Winter Carnival in the 1880s

December 6, 2009 Posted by Evelyn Yvonne Theriault | . | Native American, toboggan, winter sports | 1 Comment