Bobsled Huntington

BOBSLED "HUNTINGTON" An important object from Huntington's history has been discovered after nearly 100 years hidden away in an old barn. It has been resurrected, restored and is currently on display in the Sheep Shed adjacent to the barn on the Dr. Daniel W. Kissam property at 434 Park Avenue in Huntington. The Huntington Historical Society is currently looking for a place to permanently display this item. Here's the story.
	It started with a phone call to the Society from member Tom Hogan who reported that Frank D'Amello (shown on the left below with Robert Hughes and Toby Kissam) who owned the property of the former McKowen Dairy on Woodbury Road, had found a bobsled in one of the old barns and wanted to donate it to the appropriate organization. Tom arranged for members of the Society to look at the sled who immediately recognized the bobsled “Huntington” which raced in the Winter Carnivals held in the village from 1907 to 1920. The donation was made to the Society and the sled was transported, with the help of members of the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department, to the Kissam Barn for restoration.

The sled was originally built for the McKowen brothers before 1905. It was rebuilt to its present configuration in 1912 and most likely had been stored in that barn since its last race in 1920. The original photo on the right shows the sled before 1912. Looking carefully you can just see the name of the sled painted on it with some of the original scroll work and the name of the builder, M. R. Fagan, on the front of the sled.
The pictures below show some of the bobsleds racing down Main Street Huntington in 1915 and 1911. Note that in the photo below to the right the sled is heading through the crowd and approaching the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building on the east side of town.

	The sled was placed in the middle bay of the Kissam property barn and Anna Volkle, a native of Cold Spring Harbor has restored the sled based on early pictures and the scant evidence that remained on the sled. Anna went to work and with some help from Society volunteers, sanded, scraped and repaired broken parts and prepared for the finished paint and lettering. The photos below show some of the stages of the restoration, underside and top..

The Sled was then moved from the barn to the sheep shed, with the help of the many Society volunteers, who had spent the earlier part of the day, cleaning out the Sheep Shed making the space available. Once it's permanent home has been established, It, and it's story, will be available for everyone to see.