Brandon Twp.- An early 1900s bobsled that spent three decades in township resident Bill Rathburg’s barn has found a new home and glory at an Olympic museum in New York.
‘It’s wonderful,? said Elizabeth DeFazio, curator of the 1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum, where the restored bobsled is now on display along with artifacts including athletes? uniforms, equipment, medals, posters, torches and more.
Rathburg acquired the bobsled about 35 years ago from one of his elementary school students.
‘We were discussing the Winter Olympics and the kid said his dad had a bobsled in his barn and asked me if I was interested in buying it,? recalled Rathburg.
He did indeed purchase it, for the sum of $25, with the intention of fixing it for his children, then ages 3 and 1.
‘I thought that would happen, but it sat in the barn,? said Rathburg, who had two more children with wife Jan. ‘My student’s father had bought it on the west side of the state with the same intention, but it sat in his barn for 10 years before I bought it.?
The red and black sled, about 6-feet long and weighing 70 pounds, had some minor problems, but a broken steering mechanism was the main thing that prevented use, and so it languished in Rathburg’s barn as the years went by.
Then, on a trip to Maine about 10 years ago, the Rathburgs made a stop in Lake Placid and decided to visit the Winter Olympic Museum. They went in and were shown around by a member of the 1980s U.S. bobsled team. The man showed them various bobsleds, including a modern one, as well as one from the 1930s and another from the 1880s.
‘I told him I had one older than the 1930s one, but not as old as the 1880s,? remembered Rathburg.
‘He got excited and wanted to see pictures. We went back two years later and he asked if we wanted to donate it. We said sure.?
Two weeks later, Rathburg dropped off the bobsled and met the man who would restore it by fabricating some of the wood, reattaching the wooden steering wheel under the cowling to the steering mechanism, and repainting it to match the original colors.
Rathburg said there was a lot of speculation on the history of the sled. One theory he likes is that it was manufactured by Pratt Manufacturing Company of Coldwater, Mich., which he said would fit because the company was located on the west side of the state where his student’s father bought it and because that company made bobsleds in the early 1900s. One thing is certain? the sled was not made to be Olympic caliber. It was never used in competition. ‘I see it as even if it wasn’t used in the Olympics, it still shows people participating in winter sports back then,? Rathburg said. ‘How many people have a bobsled in their backyard??
Then, laughing, he answers his own question. ‘Not many and I know why? because you have to drag that sucker up the hill.? After more than a yearlong restoration project, the bobsled is now prominently displayed at the front of the Lake Placid museum, and this fall the Rathburgs finally saw their old sled, complete with a card identifying them as the donors.
‘We are pleased it’s found a new place and a new life, rather than gathering dust in my barn,? said Rathburg, who will be watching television coverage in February of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, including, of course, bobsledding.