Historic Hood River
Toboggan Run at Cloud Cap, 1896
2-22-2013
Notes
Here’s the same crew we saw here after their climb of Mt. Hood. Today they’re taking their turn at the toboggan. Anne Lang’s sister Bess has joined them. She’s in the rear giving a little push. It looks like they’ve also taken some trays from the Cloud Cap dining room to use as saucers.
I think the man on the left is Will Langille, and the woman seated on the toboggan is Dora Moody.
Category: default
Tags: 1890s, Cloud Cap Inn, Fun Friday, Lang Anne, Langille, Moody, Mt Hood, sports, toboggan
Tags: 1890s, Cloud Cap Inn, Fun Friday, Lang Anne, Langille, Moody, Mt Hood, sports, toboggan
l.e.
Even for climbing and playing in the snow you had to wear a dress and tie.
I can’t imagine those wet dresses flopping around my ankles.
It appears that no one has gone down the hill yet. Perhaps another posed photo which works well for Fun Friday.
l.e.
We used the big steel mixing bowl from my mom’s kitchen.
nels
Would love to see a picture of the end of the ride. Of the toboggan rides I have taken, it was chaos on the way down and at the bottom. That’s a rather steep drop off there, hoping there are no trees nearby.
charlott
My guess that this is taken off the bedroom wing where there is an open meadow sort of going down the hill. Still it is very steep there to go flying off in a tobaggan.
Jay
That’s the "lawn," and yes, the east wing (bedrooms) of Cloud Cap is just a few feet to the left out of the photo. The Crag Rats have a homemade rope tow that they hook up in the same spot – running it down to a pulley they attach to the metal post at the turn in the road, down below the lawn and through the trees. The Rats can get a lot of ski runs in on that hill. There might be alcohol involved.
I might be mistaken but it looks like beetle kill in the trees in the distance, just like today.
l.e.
A history of the Lang sisters from The Dalles states:
"It was recalled that the two sisters were in the first party to register at Cloud Cap Inn on Mt. Hood in 1890 and spent vacations there until 1904."
The history also explains their connection to congressman Malcolm Moody of The Dalles.
http://www.historicthedalles.org/images/record/WCHS-record_2012-spring.pdf
There is a little blurb in the January 28, 1897 Middleville, Michigan newspaper stating:
Miss Dora Moody, a Brattleboro, Vt., girl, who is in California , recently ascended Mt. Hood, a feat only accomplished by a few. She is the first woman who ever walked to the summit.
l.e.
I became confused when historical records said Miss Dora Moody’s father was Malcolm Moody.
The Moody family traces back to Granby, Massachusetts where the names Gideon, and Malcolm are often used. Both Malcolm A of The Dalles and Malcolm P of Vermont can be traced to Gideon and Mary Fasy of Granby, Massachusetts. Malcolm P moved to California when his daughter Dora was ready to attend school.
l.e.
On May 20, 1901 Dora Moody married Dr. Thomas M Williams of Stanford.
You can read their story here:
http://histsoc.stanford.edu/pdfST/ST11no4.pdf
and decide if the Dora Moody in the wedding dress is the same Dora Moody who climbed the mountain.
I personally think the older gentleman in the photo is Malcolm A from The Dalles, but I can’t be sure without photos of him when he was older.
Arlen Sheldrake
Note to i.e.: I think you should put in an application to History Detectives…the OPB series needs you……and I enjoy your work. Arlen
steve
the short handeled shovel in the snow looks like a "rideable" device also as displayed so nicely along with the over "devices"
l.e.
There is a possibility that Will Langille’s brother, Herbert, Thomas Williams and Dora Moody were all attending Standford at the same time.
l.e.
Thanks Arlen. I will keep reading about people, and you keep telling us about trains and maybe Arthur will let us hang around for a while.
charlott
If you look in about the center of the photo you can see the big slide area on the Hood River that is across from the old Pollallie Camp Ground.
l.e.
Charlott…do you think the trees that Jay thought were bug kill, might be fire damage?
charlott
I think it was more likely bug kill than fire damage. If you go up in that area today you will naturally see that that area is burned off as the big fire took it. I used to ride the chair life up just to sightsee when I worked at Cooper Spur Ski area and from that vantage at the top you look out over the forest and it is terrible to see the bug kill. The bug kill trees only add tender dry fuel to a fire when it gets started. Bug kill trees will go up as fast if not faster than a green tree.