|
|
In the late 1920s and early '30s "boughten" sticks were virtually unavailable to kids -- and adults -- in communities like Boswell on the shores of Kootenay Lake, B.C. Fortunately, there were plenty of cedar trees at hand, and when a cedar grows on a hillside close among others of its kin it tends to grow almost horizontally for a foot or so before turning skyward. So all we had to do was find a suitably sized young cedar, cut it off at the ground and at a suitable point up the trunk and then trim it down, especially at the sides to make a fairly respectable hockey stick. The heel tended to be somewhat reminiscent of a grass (field) hockey stick, but it served us well enough on our pond rinks until better coomunications and finances put commercially made sticks within reach.
|