Snow scurry
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on February 25, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Donald Nichols carries the head of his giant snowman to Spence Avenue where he rolled the body.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Brian Hilliard holds his daughter Adelynn, 3, close as they sled down the hill at the intersection of Wayne Memorial Drive and U.S. 70 Bypass backward Tuesday with a group of friends and neighbors. Although a little tentative at first, Adelynn quickly warmed up to the idea of sliding down the steep hill.
Seven-year-old Abby Baldner is fearless.
She grabbed her plastic disk and clutched it to her chest.
It was her first time sledding.
"I'm going to go down on my stomach," she yelled at her friends, the Brownstead family.
Mom Liz Brownstead took her two children and Abby to the best sledding hill in Goldsboro on Tuesday. They used the embankment along Wayne Memorial Drive and the U.S. 70 Bypass.
The hill's sloping side and steeper embankment offer routes for both beginning sledders and bold daredevils.
Abby was in the latter category.
Her running starts down the hill were accompanied by delighted banshee screams. She would spin and skid her way to a stop before charging up the hill to start again.
"I keep reminding them to stay out of the road, but I think it's pretty safe," Liz said.
The children were bundled up with scarves, gloves and wintery coats.
"We were out here last year in garden boots," Liz laughed. The Brownsteads went tubing in Virginia and managed to accumulate sleds and wintery clothes just in time for the snowstorm on Tuesday.
Liz's advice to beginning sledders was to hold tight and avoid falling into the slush at the bottom of the hill.
The group was joined by their neighborhood friends. The children in attendance were primarily homeschooled.
Angela Hilliard and her husband, Brian, brought their two children and dog out to the hill.
"It defeats the purpose of the snow day to keep us off the roads," she laughed, after driving to the hill to sled.
Originally from Alaska, Angela said she was not bothered by the cold.
Her 3-year-old daughter was another story. Adelynn was wrapped and bundled until only part of her face showed. She sat in her dad's lap as they slid down the embankment with a hesitant smile barely visible on her face.
Not everyone was so prepared.
Jake Smith and Goliath Wendell took to the hill in jeans and sneakers, tying plastic bags around their feet to waterproof them.
They slid penguin-style on boogie boards down the hill, which worked surprisingly well.
Alysha Williams and her mom, Betty Williams, did not want to be out in the cold. They went to Carlie C's to do some emergency snow day shopping for Alysha's three children. They picked up some bread, juice and snacks.
"I'm surprised she's out in this weather," Alysha said.
The store remained steadily busy throughout the afternoon.
Donald Nichols was not impressed.
He crawled through the snow, rolling together a giant ball. Sticks and grass stuck to the base of his snowman; the snow was not deep enough.
Still, he managed to heave one snowy mound on top of another until he had a snowman standing just over 6 feet tall in front of Sumo on Spence Avenue.
"That's a good old fashion Ohio snowman," he said.
Donald constructed his faceless snow wonder before clocking into work at 4 p.m.
The Ohio native recommends varying your rolling pattern to make sure your snowman stays round. He believes the best snowman-making conditions are a light layer of ice on top of powder. But above all, the most important thing to remember?
"Don't make it too big to lift," he laughed.