By Ryan O’Connor
Staff Writer

Philip Sargeant controls the reins while snow rolling along Grandview Avenue as Sanford Sidelinger works with the horses in this 1920 photo. At the time, most roads in Bow were still unpaved and residents stored their vehicles on blocks during winter, according to the book “100 Acres more or Less – The History of Land and People of Bow, New Hampshire,” by David A. Bundy, published for the Town History Committee in 1975. (Courtesy Photo)

It may not be Christmas in July, but the restoration on an antique snowroller is in the forecast for the town of Bow.

After years of discussion dating back to 1983, the Bow Heritage Commission is restoring the artifact, which was decommissioned during the 1920s when the town purchased a state-of-the-art mechanized snowplow.

“It’s part of our cultural heritage that we wanted refurbished so it would be an educational tool for the younger people in town,” said former heritage commission President Dick Stevens. “It’s been dreamed about for over 23 years and, this year, the energy just came together to get the job done.”

Stevens, whose term expired on June 30, said the snowroller was found on the property of Dr. Robert Johnson and was not recognizable when the project began.

“Most of the wood parts had disintegrated leaving only the essential metal parts to work with,” he said. “It’s like if you have an ax and you break the handle, you still have the important metal part of the ax and you just put a new handle on.”

As far as the the heritage commission is concerned, Bow’s Dick Welch is the right man for the job.

“He’s an expert craftsman at restoring old cars and stuff like this,” said Stevens. “Plus, his family is one of the earliest to settle in Bow so we felt he would be a good candidate to do this.”

For Welch, however, it’s just something enjoyable to do in his spare time.

“I’m semi-retired and I like working on stuff like this, so when Dick Stevens said ‘Why don’t you do it,’ I said ‘Good, it will be a nice project for me,’” said Welch. “I’m working on it pretty steady and trying to get it done as soon as possible.”

The replica of the snowroller is about three-quarters complete, but Welch said he is unsure how much longer the project will take.

The snowroller, Stevens said, was originally pulled by six horses and used to pack snow down, not plow it.

In addition, it is one of the earliest pieces of highway maintenance equipment in town, dating back to the pre-Civil War era of Bow.

“We’re guessing the original steel parts were from approximately 1850, so this is a very very detailed project with a lot of craftsmanship,” said Stevens. “It’s going to be a magnificent piece of equipment when it’s done.”

Bob Morgan, another former heritage commission chairman, said he still remembers seeing the snowroller by the old town sheds when he was growing up.

“I never saw it in action, however. I remember deer hunting with my father in the 1930s and ’40s when I was a kid and I was quite amazed by its size,” Morgan said. “I saw it in more recent times, but I didn’t pay much attention to it because, of course, it was falling apart.”

Still, Morgan expressed his excitement at the prospect of building a replica snowroller.

“It’s quite a task, so I was amazed that they decided to restore it,” he said “In fact, I was rather stunned because last time I saw it it was in a pretty poor state. But, it’s a very worthwhile task because I’d hate to see the town lose any of its history.”

Once the replica is built, the heritage commission and board of selectmen will decide on a proper place to display it. Currently, board members are looking at two or three locations, including the town garages and the old Bow Center School.