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A Flexible Flyer sled from 1936 from the permanent collection of The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis.
In the late 19th century Samuel Leeds Allen took the age-old concept of the sled and improved on it, much to the delight of generations of children.
Allen was born in Philadelphia and attended the Westtown Boarding School in Moorestown. He married in 1866, and moved to Cinnaminson to learn farming with his father, who also manufactured farm equipment.
Looking for something to keep the equipment plant operating year-round instead of only during growing seasons, Allen hit on the idea of manufacturing a steerable sled.
Up to that point, a sled rider had little control beyond traveling in a straight line; with a tree or cow looming, the options were either jump off or faceplant. Toboggans were equally prone to traveling only in a straight line.
Using local children and adults as eager test pilots, Allen went through a number of prototypes before arriving at what came to be dubbed the Flexible Flyer.
The secret lay in the crosspiece attached to the sled front, which allowed riders, using their hands or feet, to bend the flexible runners and steer the sled.
Leeds was no "one-hit wonder" with his sled invention. Over the course of 40 years, he was awarded nearly 300 patents for designs of farm and maintenance equipment in addition to the Flexible Flyer, patented in 1889. And his sled idea was so simple yet functional that it remains virtually unchanged to the present day.
Greg Hatala may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.