Sledding on Sunset Hill

My nephew, Andrew, posted a video on Facebook of his son Nicholas sledding on New Year's Day. I was hoping I could import the video to this post. It looked like so much fun.
Sledding, sliding on the ice, building snowmen and snow forts, having snow ball fights - those were all activities we enjoyed as kids. (My grandkids have added snow boarding to that list.) The school yard at Jasper #2 didn't offer any big sledding hills, but once in awhile during the longer noontime period we were allowed to go catty-cornered across the road to a hill in Firkin's pasture.
If I remember correctly, snow ball fights were banned for awhile after Gerald Brown packed snow around a rock and threw it at my brother Ron, cutting his forehead open. I guess he didn't duck quickly enough.
Most of all I remember the sledding parties my parents hosted on Sunset Hill. (That is just the name Betty and I gave it.) There was a long, fairly steep, hill in the big pasture north of the buildings at the other place. (If you went north of the farm to the bridge and looked west about a quarter of a mile you could see the hill.)
Everyone in the school district was invited as well as some friends from nearby neighborhoods. Dad would build a big bonfire at the top of the hill. Mom would make several thermos jugs of cocoa. Seems like there were hot dogs to roast, also. We would go before it was too dark and break a path down the hill. The more times we sledded down, the faster it got. Once the other kids got there, more paths would be broken, but we knew to stay close to the main trail because there was a creek at the bottom of the hill. We didn't want anyone getting hurt.
Ron had one of the nice long Flexible Flyer sleds he had received for Christmas. Betty and I only had an old short sled which we had to take turns using. There were two ways to go down the hill, laying down and sitting up. If you had one of the long sleds, two people could go down together. The person steering would lay down while the second person pushed them off and then flopped on top. Or a little one would sit in front while an older, longer legged one would sit behind and steer with his feet. Going down the hill was oh so much fun; trudging back up, not so much fun.
There were never as many sleds as there were kids, but we shared, letting someone use our sled while we warmed up by the fire. Car lights were shone down the hill until everyone knew where the paths were, then we sledded by the light of the bonfire and whatever moon there might have been. The time I remember best was when Ed Talty strayed off the path either by accident or on purpose (showboating, I think). He went over the creek bank and dropped about six feet. He wasn't hurt too badly, but that was the end to sledding that night. It was getting late, anyway.
Maybe next time Andrew and Nicholas go sledding they can get Grandpa Ron to go along. One trip down the hill should bring back lots of memories for him.