Through the sales and transitions, the Flexible Flyer was produced for years in places such as West Point, miss., and DuQuoin, Ill. And by 1998, the sled that schoolgirl Elizabeth Allen in the 1880s first steered down the hills of Ivystone Farm in Westfield, N.J., was being produced exclusively in China.
“most of our steel-runner sleds are still made in China,’’ said Morton, who in 2005, with sons Ted and Tom, bought the Flexible Flyer manufacturing rights from a company named Cerberus (in Greek mythology, the three-headed hound that guards hell). “some of them are made here in [Oxford] Maine, and it’s our goal that eventually all Flexible Flyers are made here.
“People say they want to buy American-made goods, but then you start talking price and, well . . . then the discussion changes.’’
Paricon today produces the iconic Flexible Flyer in four lengths, 42-, 48-, 54-, and 60-inch. according to Morton, the 48-incher is the most popular and retails for $90. just as in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, you’ll typically find them wedged next to the snow shovels and 10-pound bags of sand at your local hardware store, but you’re also apt to see them these days at one of the big box sporting goods stores. Catalog and Internet sales represent a good chunk of the business, too, said Morton.
“There’s still quite a bit of nostalgia attached to the sled and the logo,’’ he said, noting that some of the classic sleds are purchased solely as decorative pieces, their steel runners never to be chilled lower than room temperature. “That logo is the magic. It’s the name everyone associates with sleds.’’
With no apologies necessary for Morton or his family’s cherished Speedaway, the Flexible Flyer was the lion in winter, the top of the winter sports food chain. it was at the vanguard of America’s craving for brand names. it was the Cadillac of the industry when Cadillac was king of the road. Millions upon millions of American children, from the age of 4 on up, scribbled “Flexible Flyer’’ at the top of their wish lists to Santa.
The sled and its logo – an eagle clutching a bunch of arrows in its claws, fronted by a Flexible Flyer banner – made winter winter, made Christmas Christmas, transformed no-school snow days into magical escapades filled with countless runs down backyard hills.
So simple by today’s standards, but totally satisfying. Exhausting. Inebriating. the day wasn’t done until the Flexible Flyer was spiked in a snow bank near the backdoor, steerable front end pointed skyward, within easy reach for tomorrow’s fun. Snow-caked mittens and knit cap left to melt on the floor behind the kitchen door.
In the world of today’s sled sales, said Morton, the old-style steel-runner sled is a niche product. he remembers days in the 1970s when his family’s company cranked out 400,000 Speedaway models a year, going head-to-head with Flexible Flyer. now, he said, annual production of the same steel-runner Flexible Flyer is less than 10 percent of that figure.
These days Paricon places its Flexible Flyer logo on all manner of outdoor sports/recreation items and snow toys. the most popular item, said Morton, is the PT Blaster, made of durable plastic. the sleek PT looks a lot like a snowmobile, allowing the rider to sit on a seat mounted on two runners and hold a steering wheel, which controls a short single lead ski. by no means your granddaddy’s FF.
“Put 100 kids on a slope,’’ mused Morton, “and they all want to ride it. That’s the one. we call it our S-2000 PT Blaster.’’
But it, too, is a Flexible Flyer, a cousin of the old standard that rides on to this day. There is true comfort in that for those of us who remember the delight in peeling back the Christmas wrapping paper and finding that logo on a shiny new sled.
It’s a memory full of tinsel and ornaments, frozen toes and fingers, apple-red cheeks, tiny marshmallows floating atop steaming cups of hot chocolate, and falling to sleep by the fireplace and waking up the next morning to hit the hill all . . . over . . . again.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
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