LYNN — With a snow day in their sights Friday, kids ran for the hills.
Gannon Municipal Golf Course offered a variety of hills with the slope off Great Woods Road attracting those old enough to sled and parents bringing a new generation equipped with flying saucers and sleds.
“We’re in Happy Valley,” said Tracey Evans, 42, a longtime Lynn resident.
“It’ll always be Happy Valley.”
Evans said she grew up on Parkland Avenue and has been coming to Gannon for 40 years.
“We moved over to West Lynn now,” she said. Where do we come? I’m not stopping at Pine Hill. I’m not stopping at the park.”
Thursday’s nor’easter left Lynn with a foot of snow, which continues to blow with wind speeds of more than 30 miles per hour. The city and most of its neighbors cancelled school Thursday and Friday, giving students a four-day weekend.
“I was so excited,” said Rachel Dana, 11, a student at Pickering Middle School.
“I had an essay due today. I did not want to do that.”
Gannon also attracts families from outside the city.
Wakefield resident John Foster, 45, has taken his family to Gannon for two years.
“I went to the Peabody Y and asked where’s the best place to go sledding and they said here,” he said.
“It’s super cold,” said Cage Foster, 9, after speeding down the slopes.
“You go fast. Snow gets in your face,” said Jake Desrochers, 9, a friend of the family.
Sledding at Gannon is more than just a joyride.
“The worst part is that you have to climb up the hill,” said Amelia Spencer, 10, a Lynn resident who attends goes to Sewell-Anderson Elementary School.
